Yesterday, the Alaska Board of Fisheries failed to take decisive action to protect a key migratory corridor for Western and Interior Alaska chum and Chinook salmon stocks by not instituting meaningful windows in the South Alaska Peninsula June commercial salmon fishery.
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) voted this week to adopt new management measures for Western Alaska chum salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock fishery. While the action represents a step beyond the status quo, it falls far short of what Tribes across the Yukon‑Kuskokwim Delta and Western Alaska have consistently called for: meaningful limits that reflect Traditional Knowledge and the ongoing collapse of salmon runs.
The Departments of Interior and Agriculture are currently considering a petition that would effectively eliminate the Federal Subsistence Board and end the rural subsistence priority in Alaska. Here’s what you can do.
In a decision released January 12, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to revisit the 9th circuit’s decision that defended the Katie John cases and subsistence fishing rights, which were under attack by the State of Alaska.
On May 12, 2025, the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge (YDNWR) Manager, Spencer Rearden, issued Temporary Special Action (TSA) FSA-YD-25-01. This TSA announces closures in federal waters of the Kuskokwim River (from the mouth of the river to Aniak) starting June 1, 2025. This allows our YDNWR-KRITFC team to evaluate the Chinook, chum, and coho salmon runs as they come in and prioritize rural subsistence fishing opportunities.
Pursuant to authority delegated by the Federal Subsistence Board, the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge (YDNWR) Manager, as In-Season Manager, hereby announces five gillnet fishing opportunities for Federally qualified subsistence users within the Federal waters of the YDNWR in the Kuskokwim River mainstem.
