Hunters set a new record with 143 moose taken in the Wrangell-Petersburg area this fall.

That breaks the record harvest of 141 moose set in 2023 and easily beat last year’s take of 131.

The annual harvest over the past five years has averaged about 125 moose taken on the islands and mainland around the two communities.

This year’s hunting season opened Sept. 15 and closed Oct. 15.

The harvest count of 143 was of Oct. 16 and could increase “a little more” before the Oct. 20 deadline for hunters to report their kills, said Frank Robbins, Petersburg-based area game biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Of this year’s take, 136 were legal kills and seven were illegal — commonly bulls with an insufficient number of brow tines. Hunters generally self-report illegal kills, according to the department, and the meat is shared with the community. Hunters last year took 11 illegal bulls.

Half of this year’s harvest was on Kupreanof Island, with 67 legal and five illegal kills. The second-highest take was on Kuiu Island, with 28 legal kills.

That’s not surprising — the islands are the largest in the area, providing more moose habitat and more opportunity for hunters. Kupreanof and Kuiu were No. 1 and No. 2 last year, too.

Kupreanof is the largest island in Game Management Unit 3 at 1,082 square miles, followed by Kuiu Island at 747 square miles, Robbins said. Wrangell Island is 210 square miles.

Hunters took 19 moose up the Stikine River; six at Thomas Bay; seven legal kills and one illegal harvest on the mainland; four legal and one illegal kill on Mitkof Island; three at Farragut Bay; and two on Wrangell Island, according to Fish and Game records as of Oct. 16.

Since 2014, moose numbers in the Wrangell-Petersburg area have consistently surpassed 100 kills a year. The most recent down year was 2013, when area hunters took 85 moose.