King Salmon Numbers Still Down in 2026

King salmon are making a bleak appearance in the Upper-Susitna river drainage again this year.  However the fishery has slightly rebounded from last year’s historically low return rate.

2025 saw the lowest numbers of kings returning to spawn in over 25 years.  Last year, only 1,436 fish swam past the Deshka River weir by July 8th.  This year, the weir has counted 6,262 kings.  The sustainable escapement rate is 9,000 to 18,000 fish per year.

The King Salmon fishery has struggled since around 2012.  In response, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has closed the fishery to harvest for the past 15 seasons.  Currently, anglers may not target king salmon, even for catch and release.  

The closures do not seem to be making a significant impact, suggesting that sport fishing is not the cause of the sparse numbers of returning salmon.

In 2021, the year following the COVID 19 pandemic, it looked like the fishery might be making a rebound. Over 18,000 fish were counted that year.  But the numbers of returning King Salmon plummeted again in 2022 and have remained critically low for the past five years.

As long as current policies continue, Mat-Su king salmon populations are predicted to continue to decline.