Kenai sockeye salmon fishing reopens Thursday

Sockeye salmon fishing will soon be open again on the Kenai River.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game on Tuesday announced the river will be reopened at 12:01 a.m. Thursday after sonar counts showed the Kenai achieved its escapement goal.

According to a department press release, as of Monday, 926,917 sockeye had passed the sonar counter at river mile 19. The sustainable escapement goal for Kenai River sockeye is between 700,000 and 1.2 million fish.

"With sockeye passage exceeding 900,000 we're glad to be able to return an opportunity for folks to fish for sockeye as the season winds down," wrote Matt Miller, the department's Cook Inlet sport fish management coordinator.

The river was closed to sockeye fishing Aug. 1 due to a low sonar count. But fish passage has been strong in August, with nearly half a million fish entering the river this month.

Anglers will be allowed to keep three sockeye per day with six in possession. The order does not impact the Upper Kenai and Russian River confluence area, which closed to sockeye retention Aug. 20.