The upper Lynn Canal subsistence moose hunt started Wednesday with a guideline harvest limit of up to 25 bulls.
The hunt in unit 1D is scheduled through Oct. 7; 250 permits have been issued.
The harvest has fluctuated from 30 in 2008 to 19 last year, including four taken in violation of hunt regulations.
“Hopefully, people have watched the “Is This Moose Legal?” video and can ID spikes, forks and three brow tines,” said assistant area management biologist Anthony Crupi. Last year’s sub-legal takes were a little higher than usual, Crupi said.
Harvest is limited to bulls with a spike, forked or three-brow-tine antler configuration, or with an antler spread of 50 inches or greater. A copy of “Is This Moose Legal?” is at the Fish and Game office; it can be found on the Internet at http://www.multimedia.adfg.alaska.gov/.
Crupi said an aerial moose count on Nov. 18 showed 35 bulls per 100 cows in the valley’s moose herd. The area’s moose management plan calls for at least 20-25 bulls per 100 cows. “We feel there are bulls there to sustain the harvest.”
The local herd has done well in recent years compared to ones in Berners Bay and Gustavus that have suffered high winter mortality, Crupi said.