106 moose taken this year

This year's moose season finished with a final count of 106 animals, down from last year's unit record breaking 117, according to Petersburg Fish & Game.

Moose season began on Sept. 15 and ended Oct. 15. The final number of moose brought in during this year's moose season was 106. Although the season ended Mon., Oct. 15, hunters had five days to report their kill to fish and game. If a hunter shot a moose on that Monday, then they would have until Saturday to report it to fish and game; as a result, that final number wasn't available until this week, according to a fish and game official.

Twelve moose were shot on Mitkof Island with two of them being illegal. On Kupreanof Island, 49 total moose were shot. Three of them were illegal. Kuiu Island had 12 legal moose.

Woewodski had one legal moose. Hunters shot three moose on Wrangell Island with one being illegal. Zarembo Island only had one moose, but it was illegal.

Farragut Bay had three moose total, with one being illegal. In the Stikine River area, 17 moose were shot, with five of them being illegal. There were five legal moose shot in Thomas Bay. Three legal moose came from other areas.

In unit three, which encompasses Mitkof and Wrangell islands, residents and nonresidents alike could take one bull moose during the season. For the moose to be deemed legal, it must have spike-fork antlers or 50-inch antlers or antlers with three or more brow tines on at least one side or two brow tines on both sides, according to the 2018 through 2019 Alaska hunting regulations.

At 12 days into this year's season, the total number of moose was at 22, which was 23 moose short of where the unit was last year around the same time.

Last year's moose season closed with a moose count of 117, which was a unit record beating out the 111 record in 2016. In 2015, the moose season closed at 103 moose total.