Inside Hooper Bay’s tribal brown council house, over 50 attendees gathered to learn more from officials of the state on why they decided to shut down Chinook salmon fishing in the coastal region starting from to the Naskanat Peninsula up to Point Romanof. This closure encompasses Hooper Bay, Scammon Bay, Chevak, Emmonak, Kotlik, Nunam Iqua and Alakanuk.
State biologists explained that the closure was designed to protect the chinook salmon during they make their way upriver for spawning throughout Alaska or Canada. The majority of the people were fishermen of subsistence, and fishing can be a source of survival.
“It’s as if we’re taking food from our tables,” said one person who spoke up.
Lieutenant Sergeant of the Alaska Wildlife Department Walter Blajeski arranged the meeting. He stated that he wanted to provide the community with an opportunity to answer any questions about the fishing regulations and opportunities for fishermen.
“And I’m sure I believe that the meeting was successful. Our objective was simple was to be able for questions and provide some insight of the reasons why restrictions were in place. I believe we did this,” Blajeski said.
Non-salmon fishing is allowed during closures, however, with some restrictions. Gillnets can be restricted to mesh sizes of 4-inches or less in length and 60 feet or shorter in length. The nets should be operated as a setnet and be set close to shore.
Blajeski stated that troopers aren’t able to always enforce these laws but they can do so in the event of weather conditions and when time allows.
“We rarely make it to the beaches of the towns. When they do come, it’s typically visit them, like for the duration of the day. And these types of patrols are typically conducted at sea, or inside the town, and walking through the village since we do not have the means to get to the scene,” Blajeski said.
Blajeski said that those in violation of the rules could be punished up to $500. However, there is some room for wiggle to make allowances.
“What we’ve seen in the past couple of years for those who do not have a record of a violation and are not in violation, is about a $300 fine. We do not recommend to the court that we surrender any fishing equipment that is otherwise lawful,” Blajeski said.
Blajeski claimed that troopers do not usually take the fish, either.
“And If we do capture fish, we’ll donate the fish to a recognized charities, such as elders or individuals who are in need in the area,” Blajeski said.
Deena Jallen who is the Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist as well as Yukon River summer season manager Yukon River summer season manager she traveled to Hooper Bay for the meeting. She noted that the residents had many questions regarding commercial fishing elsewhere in regions of Alaska which could capture the same fish that subsistence fish that they are required to stay clear of.
In her position in the role of Yukon River summer season manager she stated that she frequently gets the same type of questions from people across the region.
“We often receive inquiries and statements regarding the area M and the fleet of pollock. We get that question frequently at every meeting we attend,” Jallen said.
What distinguishes Hooper Bay different from others is the fact that it is a beach community.
“In past times, the area around the coast hasn’t been shut down. There were restrictions of 6-inch mesh, however they’ve usually been left unfenced. They do capture chums and kings as they move up the shores of the Yukon River. Therefore, when there’s no surplus harvestable that we believe there is a necessity to shut down the district, as well as to hopefully decrease the harvest of the king salmon that travel along the coast.” Jallen said.
Jallen declared she was pleased to witness the turnout as and the degree of participation.
“It’s perfectly normal for people to are extremely discontent over the situation with salmon and the management practices in the last few time,” Jallen said.
Jallen told us she believes the fish in Hooper Bay are either bound to either the Yukon River, where runs have been extremely low in recent times or heading to other streams along the coast or other regions of the state.
There are also concerns about King salmon runs in Western Alaska and particularly in the Yukon River area. Jallen claimed that the area didn’t attain any of the escapement targets for king salmon in the last year.
“So any king salmon returning either to Yukon River or to Yukon River or to a nearby spawning stream, is likely to be in a fairly low number this year, and consequently we’re concerned about each one. Even if that fish isn’t specifically Yukon-bound we’ve seen nothing that suggests, that the river’s doing much better or that the stream is performing better,” Jallen said.
Fisheries managers stated that they may ease restrictions when the run is stronger than they’ve anticipated, but currently, Jallen says that every district in the Yukon will be restricted to king salmon fishing. Based on the timing of the salmon run these closures will work upwards across the entire Yukon area, encompassing all districts as well as all tributaries.
“I believe the primary conclusion is that we are aware that these management decisions are extremely intensively directing subsistence. We also know that it’s very difficult. We’re doing this due to the fact that runs are too low that there’s not enough fish to harvestable extra,” Jallen said.
The anger was tangible.
“You are aware that they were hoping for questions but many of the members of the community who were present at the meeting, felt that you know, they were not able to get information,” said Native Village of Hooper Bay Tribal Administrator Jan Olson.
Community members say they require access to subsistence food items.
“We do not engage in commercial fishing. You know we don’t go all the way to Yukon or the Black River to do any kind that commercial fishing. We just stay in the area and do small-scale fishing for subsistence,” Olson said.
Olson admitted that there’s a lot of doubt as to why they’re being controlled. Fishing is the only way for survival.
“We’re not doing this to earn money. We’re here to keep the fish we catch in freezers to store for future use. You know it’s a large element of our diet. That’s a particular thing we didn’t get,” Olson said.
The remnants of Typhoon Merbook that struck in the fall of 2022, triggered significant floods within Hooper Bay. Families were evacuated and homes were destroyed. the stores of salmon and other food items for subsistence were destroyed. The community was dependent on state aid as and donations of fish.
“You know that we’re not a bad bunch of people, but we simply want to fish it’s just that we want to catch the fish we’re used to.” Olson said.
Olson as well as a number of other residents and other residents, have said that the rules will create winter difficult because many residents do not have enough income to afford more food.
