King Salmon

With rivers in Western Alaska still locked by ice, it may seem early to be talking about king salmon. But with weak returns expected again this season, for many, the dialogue can't begin soon enough.  State fish and game biologists are meeting in Anchorage this week to review escapement goals for the Arctic Yukon Kuskokwim region.  The discussion is the prelude to what could be a contentious summer, especially for those who have depended on...

Kenai and Kasilof River king salmon fishing will close Thursday, with closures also affecting parts of Cook Inlet, in the latest and most drastic example of numerous fishing restrictions imposed by state officials this year to protect low salmon runs. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game says the Kenai River closure, which will go into effect with the others at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, was triggered by projections that show fewer than a threshold number of 17,800 kings will escape the fishery this year.

Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, is calling on Gov. Sean Parnell, R-Alaska, to declare a fisheries disaster in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, where king salmon runs are some of the weakest on record.  In a letter to the governor, Begich said the crisis has been compounded by high energy prices and the rising costs of goods.  “The food security of Alaska's rural citizens is of the utmost importance and action is needed now,” Begich wrote....

Businesses that depend on Kenai River king salmon will likely face a difficult start to the summer, as biologists say they've never seen so few fish this time of year. The Kenai is Alaska's river of record, with the world's largest king salmon caught in these waters, the largest king salmon sport fishery in the world -- and now a new, more troubling record. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game says there are very few king salmon in the water. Officials counted just 32 Thursday.

Kings vs. sockeyes. It's a debate that continued on the Kenai River, as commercial fishing got underway on Monday with some of the worst king salmon numbers on record.  The Upper Cook Inlet driftnet fleet and setnetters on the east end of the Inlet had twelve hours of commercial fishing on Monday, capitalizing on a strong pulse of sockeye salmon. Fish and game biologists say between 200,000 to 250,000 sockeyes entered the river over the past few days, compared to the kings, which still are barely trickling in.    Pat Shields, a state biologist in Soldotna, says the kings number only in the hundreds, so it's like trying to keep track of small pieces of straw while dealing with big bales of hay.      “And I guess that analogy works to point out to people that it is a very serious challenge to try to accurately estimate the number of king salmon swimming up the Kenai River, when they're mixed in with hundreds of thousands of sockeye,” said Shields.

The head of the largest tribal organization in the state says he will request a disaster designation from Governor Sean Parnell to address the king salmon crisis on the Kuskokwim and Yukon Rivers. Myron Naneng who is president of the Association of Village Council Presidents, says the situation is getting critical for people in the region who depend on the wild salmon harvest to feed their families.  A 7-day subsistence closure for king salmon, which was set to expire at midnight on Saturday was extended five more days on Friday.

A three-day “State of Our Salmon” summit is underway in Bethel, hosted by the Association of Village Council Presidents, a regional organization that represents more than 50 tribes.   The gathering has brought together many experts to present research on Arctic Yukon Kuskokwim fisheries. Delegates from AVCP will also contribute traditional knowledge about Western Alaska salmon runs.    The conference was called as fishermen brace for the possibility of yet another season of subsistence closures and restrictions for king salmon, or chinooks, the staple of the diet for the region.

Fish camps up and down the Kuskokwim River in Southwest Alaska remain unusually quiet and void of activity.  But callers on a Bethel talk radio show had plenty to say about the failure of the king salmon run to appear.   Monday's radio show on KYUK-AM came one day after a seven-day closure of subsistence fishing was extended for another five days.  “I depend on that salmon for my life and health,” said one caller, Elena Aluskak of Bethel. “It's who we are. It's who I am.”  Harry Jackson of Kwethluk worried out loud on the radio.

King and silver salmon stocks in Anchorage could increase as a new state fish hatchery that has been in the works since 2010 starts its first summer release. Alaska Department of Fish and Game employees are now stocking local fishing spots with fish raised at the William Jack Hernandez Sport Fishing Hatchery. They've raised about 5 million fish inside their new, state-of-the-art building at Ship Creek. It takes from two to five years for king salmon to return to places like Ship Creek, versus about a year for silver salmon.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game decided late Wednesday to allow Southwest Alaska subsistence fishermen to fish for chum and sockeye salmon on the lower Kuskokwim River starting Friday, but kept a ban on fishing for king salmon in place through the end of the month. Fishermen in the Bethel area have been very concerned in recent weeks, as a delay in the king salmon run has prompted state and federal action to protect the fish from overfishing. “We have some early indications, we're at an early point in the run, but we have early indications that we're looking at low abundance of Chinook (salmon)