ADF&G Opens Subsistence Fishing Starting August 7, 2025
Photo by Lisa Hupp/FWS.
Advisory Announcement
For Immediate Release: August 7, 2025 | Time: 12:00pm
Contact: Sam Decker, Kuskokwim Area Management Biologist, 907-543-2433, 907-459-7295
Kuskokwim River Salmon Fishery Announcement #4
Emergency Order #3-S-WR-04-25
This is an announcement from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (the Department) in Bethel for subsistence fishermen in the Kuskokwim River.
The Kuskokwim River from the mouth up to the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge boundary near Aniak has been under a Federal Special Action (FSA) since June 1. After reviewing coho salmon passage estimates at the Kuskokwim River sonar, US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) rescinded the FSA and fisheries management of the lower Kuskokwim has returned to the Department. Throughout the summer season the Department has monitored the salmon runs in the Kuskokwim Area. Assessment projects operated by ADF&G, Orutsararmiut Native Council (ONC), Native Village of Napaimute (NVN), US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (KRITFC), and National Park Service (NPS) have all contributed to a better understanding of the 2025 salmon runs. Through discussions at weekly Kuskokwim River Salmon Management Working Group (Working Group) meetings, subsistence fishers have reported satisfaction with their salmon harvest, which is reflected in the declining harvest efforts.
As of August 6th, about 249,000 coho salmon have been counted at the Kuskokwim River sonar. This is the highest coho salmon passage observed at the project for this date. As such, the coho salmon run is likely to meet escapement goals, while allowing for a normal subsistence harvest and a limited commercial harvest. The Department will continue to operate the Kuskokwim River sonar through August to monitor the coho salmon run. The sustainable escapement goal range at the Kogrukluk River weir is 13,000 to 28,000 fish. The Working Group will continue to discuss the coho salmon run and management during future meetings.
Subsistence Sections 1 through 5:
• Effective 12:00 p.m. Thursday, August 7th, subsistence fishing with set or drift gillnets will open. Gillnets shall be 6-inch or less mesh and must not exceed 50 fathoms and 45 meshes in depth.
• Effective 12:00 p.m., Thursday, August 7th, all salmon species may be retained in all legal subsistence gear, which include gillnets, fish wheels, dip nets, beach seines, and hook and line.
As a reminder to fishers: Set gillnets must be separated by 75 feet minimum and a gillnet may not obstruct more than one-half of the width of any stream, channel, or side-channel.
The department manages Kuskokwim River salmon fisheries as directed by the Alaska Board of Fisheries under 5 AAC 07.365 Kuskokwim River Salmon Management Plan. The plan provides management direction to achieve salmon run abundance large enough to meet escapement goals and provide for sustainable fishing in the long-term. The department uses the best available data, including preseason run projections, test fishing indices, age and sex composition, harvest reports, sonar estimates, and recognized data uncertainty, to assess run abundance for the purpose of implementing the plan. Kuskokwim River salmon stocks shall be managed in a conservative manner consistent with the Policy for the Management of Sustainable Salmon Fisheries under 5 AAC 39.222 to meet escapement goals and the subsistence harvest priority on the identified surplus.
Kuskokwim River Salmon Working Group:
The next Working Group meeting is scheduled for August 20, 2025, at 10:00 a.m., by teleconference or in-person, at the Bethel ADF&G office. This meeting is open to the public. Please call 1-888-788-0099, meeting ID 816 6267 8969, passcode: 849016, to attend via teleconference.
Further announcements will be made from the Bethel Fish and Game office, on the State of Alaska web site (http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=cfnews.main), and local radio stations. Advisory Announcements will be faxed to area villages. For additional information or questions regarding Kuskokwim Area fisheries, contact the Alaska Department of Fish and Game office in the Bethel at 543-2433 or toll free at 1-855-933-2433.
For additional information concerning this advisory announcement:
ADF&G: Sam Decker 907-459-7295
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