The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has announced an emergency permit hunt to harvest muskoxen stranded on an island in the Bering Sea.
Read more Alaska’s seismic network is now on the lookout for landslides, too
The tiny island, known locally as Paamiut Island, is located less than a half-mile from Nunivak Island’s southern coast and roughly 40 miles from the Kuskokwim Delta mainland.
According to the state’s emergency order, at least five muskoxen are stranded on the island. There is no source of fresh water, forage is limited, and the muskoxen’s survival is unlikely.
One muskox may be harvested per person. Resident locking-tag fees are waived for the hunt.
Read more Anchorage public safety commission proposal dead after weeks of testimony
Hunters can apply for a permit by visiting hunt.alaska.gov. The hunt is set to close Dec. 1.
The state has provided a handful of opportunities in recent years to harvest muskoxen stranded on islands or ice floes. The Department of Fish and Game opened hunts on islands off the Nunivak coast in and . In , residents had the opportunity to harvest muskoxen stranded on late spring ice floes.
Read more An alternative newspaper, the Anchorage Press, gets a reboot
Copyright 2026 KYUK