Bull moose hunt ends

Registration permit hunt RM164 for bull moose in game management unit 6B closed at midnight on Sept. 26 by emergency order of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

The 2018 moose population point estimate for that area, east of the Copper River Delta and including the Martin River Valley, is 420 moose, said Charlotte Westing, Prince William Sound area wildlife biologist for ADF&G in Cordova.

Harvest reports indicate that the take as of Sept. 26 was 28 bull moose, the maximum allowable harvest, she said. Additional take beyond the harvest objective could harm the long-term stability of that moose population, she said.

Still, hunters remained in the field and it is possible additional moose have been taken and not yet reported, so the closure was necessary to prevent excessive harvest, she said.

The closure affects only registration permit hunt RM164 in Unit 6. Other moose hunting regulations in the remainder of Game Management Unit 6 were not affected by that emergency closure.

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