An emergency closure has ended registration permit mountain goat hunt RG249, in order to prevent unsustainable harvest.
The hunt in game management unit 6D, in areas east of Columbia Glacier north of Valdez Arm and west of Port Valdez, Shoup Bay and Shoup Glacier ended at midnight Sept. 28, said Charlotte Westing, Prince William Sound area wildlife biologist in Cordova.
An aerial survey found a minimum count of 235 goats in that area. The maximum allowable harvest is 12 goat units. As of Sept. 27, the reported harvest was nine billies and one nanny, for a total of 11 goat units. Each nanny counts as two goat units.
As hunters were still in the field it was likely that additional goats had been taken and not yet reported, Westing said.
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