Lower Kuskokwim Transfers From Federal To State Management kyuk.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kyuk.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
During the July 14 Kuskokwim River Salmon Management Working Group meeting, state fishery biologist Sean Larson showed a graph representing the chum run so far this season. It was basically a flat line.
“So the story remains the same for chum. It s an incredibly small run,” Larson said.
It’s the smallest chum run ever recorded for the river. During the July 14 working group meeting, Larson said that the chum escapement looked to be about a quarter of what it was at this point last year, and last year was a low, late chum run.
On the bright side, numbers for sockeye, or red, salmon have been strong this year. Working group member Barbara Carlson provided this fishing report from Sleetmute.
2021 Kuskokwim River Salmon Openings And Regulations kyuk.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kyuk.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Another low king salmon run is expected this year. State biologists estimate 94,000 to 150,000 kings will return to the Kuskokwim. That’s similar to last year’s return, which saw low numbers for not only kings, but also chum salmon.
To conserve the kings, federal management will begin June 1 and last until mangers determine that there is no more king conservation concern this season. On June 1, the Kuskokwim River and its salmon-spawning tributaries will close to gillnets and king salmon harvest. During the first half of the month, the mainstem will open for three set-net openings and two driftnet openings.
Federal and tribal managers have set an escapement goal of 110,000 kings reaching their spawning grounds. That’s more than the lower range of the number of kings state biologists forecast will return to the Kuskokwim this year, but forecasts are only educated estimates. Last year, fewer kings returned than initially forecast. The year before, more returned
Federal Management Of Lower Kuskokwim Kings Likely This Summer kyuk.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kyuk.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.