People living along both the Yukon as well as the Kuskokwim rivers are anticipating a disappointing year when it comes to harvesting salmon, the fish which used to fill their freezers and smokehouses. This is a catastrophe that occurs each year, which is a source of intense pain throughout the region, and embraced in other parts of the world as a new, bad norm.
Here’s an overview of the Y-K Delta salmon crisis and how the year is getting ready.
Which species of salmon have been affected?
Chinook (king) and Chum are the two major salmon species in the Yukon and Kuskokwim. They’ve been in low levels on both rivers for several years. In addition, the coho (silver) return has also decreased.
How many years has this been happening?
This is the fourth year that subsistence fishing has been shut down or severely restricted on both rivers.
In the last three years in the Yukon hasn’t had enough numbers of chinook to achieve the most important goal of allowing enough salmon to move up the river for spawn. Many escapement targets for Yukon coho and chum weren’t achieved either.
The issue is longer than that. The Yukon subsistence harvest of chinook has been lower than the amount of what is needed since the year 2008. Chum fell substantially in 2017 and hasn’t recovered.
On the Kuskokwim photo, the image is just a little better. The chinook crisis there was in full swing by 2009 and is continuing. Chum have also fallen to record low levels. In 2021, Kuskokwim witnessed an 84% decrease in chum as compared to the previous year and only a small increase in the year prior. Coho and chum have been scarce in the past three years.
Are fishermen still fishing in the area?
The rivers once supported commercial salmon fishing. On the Yukon there hasn’t been a commercial chinook fishery since 2007. Chum fishing opportunities for commercial fishermen have been limited.
The harvesting for food, and not money or for sport is severely limited, as well.
Yukon subsistence fishermen aren’t permitted to hunt salmon for two years with the exception of a few from testing fisheries or subsistence nets designed to catch fish that aren’t salmon.
On the Kuskokwim subsistence fishing zone, the catch of Chinook has been severely curtailed. This year, for eighth consecutive year the catch was lower than half what the state believes is adequate to meet the needs. The federal, state and tribal fishery management managers laud residents who sacrificed their regular chinook catch to achieve escape goals.
The harvest of Kuskokwim chum is also well below the minimum requirements for the last three years.
What’s the outlook on the coming year?
Yukon Chinook are predicted to return in numbers not enough to meet the escapement threshold, the number needed to sustain a reproducing in a healthy way. There is no possibility of even an under-subsistence harvest.
The Yukon Chum runs are forecast to be low however, managers could allow subsistence fishing to summer Chum.
Fish managers from the Kuskokwim anticipate meeting the escapement target for Chinook and allow for a limited subsistence harvest. It’s not yet clear if coho or chum can be able to meet the escapement goals.
What’s the reason this is happening?
The Bering Sea commercial fleet has landed 13,000 chinook to date this year. This is a source of anger for Yukon as well as Kuskokwim subsistence fishermen, who sacrificed fish they require for their families’ food to let them escape. Pollock fishermen claim that only the smallest percentage of these fish would have gone back in Western Alaska rivers.
Subsistence salmon fishermen recognize that climate change as well as environmental factors could be the primary causes for the current salmon crisis. They also say that the control of bycatch is one the few tools for managing available.
