Yesterday morning, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a thorough and well-reasoned opinion affirming the Federal District Court for the District Court of Alaska’s permanent injunction blocking the State of Alaska from repeating its unlawful actions on the Kuskokwim River.
Effective August 14 at 9 a.m., ADF&G lifted all mesh size restrictions for subsistence fishing within the Kuskokwim River Drainage
This is an announcement from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (the Department) in Bethel for subsistence fishermen in the Kuskokwim River.
The Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge (YDNWR) Manager, in partnership with the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (KRITFC), determined that Federal management for the conservation of Chinook, Chum, and Coho is no longer needed in 2025.
BETHEL, Alaska (AP) - The tribal commission formed to co-manage the Lower Kuskokwim's fish has laid out an approach to protect the river's salmon.
KYUK-AM reports that the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, made up of the 33 tribes that live along the river, met Monday for its annual meeting.
Mary Peltola, the commission's executive director, said there is a consensus among the tribes that they need to rebuild the river's salmon stocks.
BETHEL, Alaska (AP) — The tribal commission formed to co-manage the Lower Kuskokwim’s fish has laid out an approach to protect the river’s salmon, voting down a resolution to allow larger nets that would catch bigger fish.
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.
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.
With king salmon runs declining on the Kuskokwim River, at least one village has expressed interest in developing a hatchery. But without a government-recognized plan, the Kuskokwim can’t develop such a resource. A group is gathering to change that and has begun the long process of creating what’s called a "salmon production plan."
Such a plan would not deal with salmon management, but instead would lay out guidelines for producing more fish through hatchery projects. Such production plans were developed in most regions of the state in the 1970s and 80s, as depressed fish harvests increased interest in hatcheries among commercial fishermen. But the Kuskokwim never had much commercial fishing or this interest.
Who will manage the Lower Kuskokwim subsistence fishery this summer and how they will do it will be decided in the middle of this month.
There are two main plans on the table for managing the fishery under federal jurisdiction.
The first, from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, would close the portion of the Kuskokwim River inside the Yukon Delta Wildlife Refuge to king salmon fishing from June 12 through August 30 and limit fishing to subsistence users.
The other plan, from the Native Village of Akiak, would close that section of the Kuskokwim to king salmon fishing from May 20 to June 30 and limit fishing to designated community fishermen with harvest quotas. This is similar to what happened in 2015.
The Kuskokwim River is ice-free at the headwaters and the ice is broken in Aniak. News of breakup is always exciting. With daylight shining so late into the night now, summer seems so close and it’s fun to think about the possibility of boat rides and fishing!
On Monday, May 7 and Tuesday, May 8, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. on both days, the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission will be having its Annual Commissioner’s Meeting at the Cultural Center in Bethel.
As the days grow longer, our thoughts naturally drift toward planning for salmon fishing this summer.
The summer of 2017 was unusually challenging with the extremely low water in the Kuskokwim watershed, and warm water temperatures in May and June. The king salmon run timing was the latest most of us have ever seen. And, the kings were running so deeply that their presence was difficult to detect. When the kings finally began showing up in real numbers, the chums and reds were already running, the best drying weather had already past, and the rainy days had set in.
When there’s a meeting on the Kuskokwim concerning fish or wildlife, Tuntutuliak elder James Charles is usually at the table. He’s been at that table for decades, kindly looking at managers over his glasses and offering a guiding voice. At the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recognized Charles as a “Conservation Hero.”
