Fish caught near Kasilof, Alaska confirmed as an Atlantic salmon

Kasilof, Alaska

A fish caught this month near Kasilof is the first documented Atlantic salmon discovered in Cook Inlet, state officials confirmed Friday.

The fish was caught off Cohoe beach, near Kasilof, by setnetter Joel Doner on July 1. Doner took it the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Soldotna, where biologist Jeff Fox sent it to Anchorage for testing.

Fox on Friday said the fish was definitely an Atlantic salmon, and it probably escaped from a farm or hatchery in Canada. There are a few characteristics that distinguish it from Pacific salmon, and Fox said this fish matches them all.

Among some of the key identifying characteristics of an Atlantic salmon are an anal fin with eight to 11 rays and a mouth that does not extend past the far edge of the fish's eye.

Atlantic salmon had previously been found as far north as Prince William Sound, Fox said. But with fish farming increasing, they will become more common over time.