Kitoi Bay is a cove about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) across, located on the west side of Izhut Bay on the southeast coast of Afognak Island, about 105 miles (169 km) southwest of Homer and 28 miles (45 km) north of Kodiak, Alaska. The local name is derived from the Russian “Kitovaya Bukhta” or Whale Bay that was published in 1943 by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey.

A hatchery at Kitoi Bay was constructed in 1954 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service but was destroyed in the 1964 earthquake and then rebuilt by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in 1965. The hatchery was initially designed as a sockeye salmon research facility. By 1976, hatchery production priorities had switched to pink salmon fisheries enhancement. The present goal of the facility is to provide enhanced common property salmon fishing opportunities for Kodiak Management Area fishermen by increasing returns of pink, chum, coho, and sockeye salmon.

The hatchery is owned by the State of Alaska and operated by the Kodiak Regional Aquaculture Association under an operating agreement with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Funding for the hatchery was provided exclusively by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game until 1987 and then provided jointly by the state and the Kodiak Regional Aquaculture Association 1987 to 1991. Since 1992, the hatchery has been fully funded by the Kodiak Regional Aquaculture Association. Read more here and here. Explore more of Kitoi Bay Hatchery here: