Cook Inlet EEZ closes

Commercial fishing for salmon in the Cook Inlet Exclusive Economic Zone closes for the year at 7 p.m. today, the National Marine Fisheries Service announced.

This was the first season for a separate, federal fishery in the EEZ — a result of ongoing court battles over Cook Inlet salmon management.

It appears the salmon harvest has been modest in the EEZ. The latest tally shows a catch of 323,680 sockeye, or 66 percent of the quota.