Kuskokwim River Salmon Management Working Group Meets in Anchorage to discuss Management during the 2014 Season
April 3 & 4, 2014
On April 3 & 4th , the Kuskokwim River Salmon Management Working Group (WG) met to discuss management strategies for the 2014 season, specifically in regards to the anticipated low numbers of Chinook that will return to the river. Federal and state representation was present, as well as community members from up and down the Kuskokwim River.
If you will remember, the 2013 return was the lowest on record for king salmon. 2014 is not expected to be much different. Something that will be different, however, is the level of restriction to the harvest of king salmon that can take place this year as compared to last. Gone is the optimism of last year – in its place is a very conservative approach to the season.
Many on the river are willing to completely forego subsistence harvest of king salmon, to make sure that the fish are able to make it to their spawning grounds. The idea being to harvest other species of salmon, to ensure that the Chinook remain untouched this year and can make a comeback in future years, allowing younger generations to appreciate them in all of their glory.
Some others on the river are requesting that the harvest of king salmon only be allowable for federally qualified users, local to the Kuskokwim River. A special action request is currently being deliberated and will be ruled on by the Federal Subsistence Board for this to take place. If it should go through, in periods of surplus of king salmon, only federally qualified users living on the Kuskokwim River would be allowed to harvest king salmon in the federal area of the Kuskokwim River (from Aniak down to the mouth of the Kuskokwim). How this surplus would be allocated to those users is still being discussed (one example being a permit system).
This is not a topic to be taken lightly, and the WG members appreciate that fact. Following two days of heavy deliberation and discussion, several points were agreed upon in regards to the management of Chinook on the Kuskokwim River.. There will be no directed king salmon fishing and the season will start closed for subsistence salmon fishing. As for the chum and red salmon openings, managers are setting no hard dates for the first gillnet opening, other than it is anticipated to be in the last week of June. During the June king salmon closures, for the first time ever on the Kuskokwim, there will be opportunities for fisherman to use 5’ dipnets to target chum and sockeye.
The WG is currently putting together an official informational document for community members up and down the river, so that everyone can be better informed about expectations for the 2014 season. That list will be posted here as soon as it becomes available.
KYUK continues to follow this topic, and a variety of articles can be found on their website. Here are just a couple of links to their articles:
Meetings are being held in Bethel on April 7th (at 10 AM) & 8th (at 1 PM) to discuss the special action request. At these meetings, the public will have the opportunity to provide testimony and comments to the Regional Advisory Council and representatives of the Federal Subsistence Management Program as part of the decision making process. Attend these meetings in person or by calling 1-866-560-5984 and the passcoade is 12960066. You may also submit written comments by faxing 907-786-3333 or e-mail to subsistence@fws.gov. Comments will be forwarded to the Federal Subsistence Board for its consideration; the board will meet on April 15th.For more information on the special action request submitted by the Native Village of Napaskiak, and the follow-up to that request, visit the following pages.