Kodiak, Afognak Island Rockfish Limits Reduced

New restrictions aim to ensure sustainable harvests of black rockfish in northern regions

Apr. 1, 2026 at 1:08am

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The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has announced modifications to the bag and possession limits for rockfish in the waters around Kodiak and Afognak Islands. This is due to concerns over increasing harvests, particularly of black rockfish, and the need to ensure long-term sustainability of these populations.

Why it matters

Rockfish, especially black rockfish, are long-lived and slow-growing, making them vulnerable to overfishing. The new limits are intended to protect these species in areas where harvests have been rising, while still allowing anglers increased opportunities to target other rockfish species.

The details

In the southern portion of the Afognak District, Westside and Northeast Districts, and part of the Eastside District, the new bag limit is 5 rockfish per day, 10 in possession, with no more than 2 per day and 4 in possession of a single species. In the northern Afognak and Shuyak Islands, the bag limit is reduced to 3 rockfish per day, with no more than 1 of a single species.

  • The new regulations will be in effect from June 1 to December 31, 2026.
  • Preliminary 2025 black rockfish harvests were high, ranging from 3,595 in the Eastside District to 8,834 in the Northeast District.

The players

Alaska Department of Fish and Game

The state agency responsible for managing Alaska's fisheries, including setting regulations for recreational rockfish fishing around Kodiak and Afognak Islands.

Tyler Polum

Area Management Biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, who stated the rationale for the new rockfish limits.

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What they’re saying

“Emergency orders issued in the previous several seasons have been effective in reducing the proportion of the rockfish harvest made up of black rockfish in accordance with the Kodiak Area Rockfish Management Plan, however, the abundance and density of black rockfish continues to decline and some areas around Kodiak and Afognak Islands continue to see increasing rockfish harvest.”

— Tyler Polum, Area Management Biologist

“Reducing the bag limit for individual species during the 2024 and 2025 seasons continued to reduce harvest of black rockfish in some areas of the island, however, preliminary harvest estimates indicate that the 2025 harvest of black rockfish was still well above sustainable harvest levels for Afognak and Northeast Districts and the Eastside District was very near the limit of sustainable harvest.”

— Tyler Polum, Area Management Biologist

What’s next

ADF&G will continue to monitor rockfish harvests and populations through logbooks, dockside sampling, and ongoing hydroacoustic surveys to assess the effectiveness of the new limits.

The takeaway

These new rockfish limits aim to strike a balance between protecting vulnerable black rockfish populations and allowing anglers continued access to a variety of rockfish species in the Kodiak and Afognak Island region.