Unalaska, AK – Record low sockeye salmon numbers have forced the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to extend the closure of subsistence fishing in part of Unalaska's Reese Bay. The closure was scheduled to end Sunday as it has in years past, but Fish and Game management biologist Forrest Bowers said it will be extended on account of tumbling salmon escapement numbers, which have fallen from a high of nearly 102,000 in 2003 to less than a tenth of that this summer.

Reese Bay is about 18 miles by boat from Dutch Harbor. Spawning sockeye travel up a short stream from there to McLees Lake, making the bay one of most popular local fishing spots. 85 to 95 percent of the salmon caught on subsistence permits in Unalaska come from Reese Bay.

Fisheries biologists aren't sure what caused the decline. It's possible that 2003's population explosion was an anomaly. But sockeye runs are down in Kodiak and Bristol Bay as well, so the decline in Unalaska could be the result of a regional trend.

The closure extends for 500 yards on either side of the stream outflow into the bay. The extension is for an indefinite length of time, but Bowers said that most sockeye usually make it into the lake by the end of July.