Salmon

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....

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)

Alaska king salmon shortages produced emergency orders Tuesday from federal and state authorities, closing the Kenai River to fishing for kings and restricting fishing on the Kasilof River until at least the end of the month. An emergency order from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service closes the Kenai downriver of Skilak Lake to subsistence fishing for kings, effective from 12:01 a.m. Friday, June 22 through 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, July 14. “Through June 18, all indices used to assess the abundance of early-run Chinook salmon in the Kenai River indicate a run that is well below average and lowest on record,” wrote USFWS biologist Doug Palmer.

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.

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.

“Empty fish racks, after empty fish racks,” said Bev Hoffman of Bethel, describing a trip Friday up the Kuskokwim River, which is lined with family fish camps.   In most years by this time, those racks and smokehouses are filling up with king or chinook salmon, the main staple of the subsistence diet in Southwest Alaska.  Hoffman is co-chair of the Kuskokwim River Salmon Management Working Group, which is mostly made up of subsistence and commercial fishermen representing communities up and down the wide, muddy river.

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 U.S. Senate moved the country one step closer Thursday afternoon to something that the world has never seen before: approving a genetically modified, or GM, animal for human consumption. The Senate passed a bill approving reauthorization of the Food and Drug Administration, which clears the way for the agency to go ahead with its consideration of allowing GM salmon to be sold to people. Alaska Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich thought the decision was too important to be left exclusively in the hands of the FDA. They wanted the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration to rule on genetic engineering as well.

Alaska Copper River salmon have begun their long journey from the ocean to dinner plates across the country, as commercial fishermen were allowed to begin casting nets for the fish Thursday morning. Fishermen in Cordova hope to cash in on the prized salmon, known for its superiority in the culinary world. Processing plants will get a better idea of the size of Thursday's catch, permitted during a 12-hour period, once ships begin returning later Thursday night. Channel 2 spoke with many fishermen on the water during the opener, however, who said they weren't getting much of a haul.

In Southeast Alaska, there's a controversy brewing. A controversy between loggers and fisherman. Last year, the salmon catch in Southeastern Alaska was the highest in the state, exceeding even salmon-rich Bristol Bay. Something in excess of 15-billion pounds of salmon was caught there in 2011. That wasn't always the case. In 1967, the salmon catch in southeast commercial fisheries hit a record low, just 215 million pounds. There are many possible reasons for the low catch, but scientists agree, among those reasons were the logging practices of the time.