Commercial and sport fisherman in Juneau are preparing for a limited king salmon season as officials recorded the lowest ever salmon returns on the Taku River.
The Juneau Empire reports that in the 27 years of recorded data on the Taku River, escapement numbers have averaged nearly 42,000 fish.
Alaska Department of Fish and Game officials expect only about 12,000 Taku River chinook salmon to make it to the spawning grounds this year, well below their goal of at least 19,000.
