Friday's gillnet opening in the lower Kuskokwim River may not be the last one. The Kuskokwim River Salmon Management Working Group is recommending that the community of Kasigluk receive additional fishing hours this season after recent deaths limited the community’s ability to subsistence fish.
YourAlaskaLink.com: Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission Holds Annual Forum, Bethel
Anchorage, AK – Almost every village situated along the Kuskokwim River ventured to Bethel during breakup season this week, to participate in this year’s Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, to examine how to protect its fish population.
Thirty-three tribes reside along the Kuskokwim River and share its fish, who formed the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission four years ago.
KYUK: Kuskokwim Tribes Commit To King Salmon Conservation This Summer
On the Kuskokwim River, it’s not an easy decision to travel during breakup. There are chores to be done to prepare for summer, and flooding is a constant risk that keeps people close to their homes, standing guard. But on Monday and Tuesday, a group traveled to Bethel from nearly every village along the river to discuss how to protect the fish that swim by.
Thirty-three tribes live along the Kuskokwim and share all the fish within it. Four years ago, the tribes came together to form the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. It was a historic agreement that allowed tribes to co-manage the Lower Kuskokwim salmon under federal jurisdiction alongside federal managers at the the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.