Salmon permits fished in False Pass began to decline about the time the salmon cannery burned in 1981. The graph at the right shows that in the year 1980, there were a total of 19 salmon permits fished. When the Limited Entry system was created, local fishermen were entitled to receive salmon permits in each of three fishing gear types, if they could document participation in each fishery. Owners of more than one gear permit were only permitted to fish one permit at a time, however. Over time, some of these owners sold their permits, usually to non-resident fishermen.
The graph shows that since the cannery burned, the number of permits in the community has declined markedly. By 1994, the total number of permits had declined from the original 19 to just 10. By the year 2009, the salmon permits fished in False Pass had declined to 6, less than 1/3rd the number in 1980. Some of these permit holders moved to other fishing communities in the region such as King Cove and Sand Point.