A poor return of king salmon on the Anchor River will shut down all sport fishing on the Anchor and Ninilchik rivers and Deep Creek drainages beginning Saturday morning, the Alaska Department of Fish & Game announced Thursday.

“The midpoint of the Anchor River king salmon run was extremely late. These fish are really having some odd, unprecedented run timing and behavior."

The State Department of Fish and Game has closed king salmon fishing on the Kenai River and surrounding Cook Inlet areas for the third consecutive year due to alarmingly low forecast returns.

Ship Creek in Anchorage will be closed to sport fishing for two weeks to support salmon stock sustainability at a local hatchery.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced preseason fishing limits and closures Thursday as chinook numbers continue to decline. The closure also triggers commercial setnet shutdowns.