Credit Stephanie Quinn-Davidson / Yukon River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
For the second year in a row, salmon runs on the Yukon River are so low that local managers will request a state disaster declaration. King salmon numbers remain low, and summer chum numbers are the lowest on record.
During the Yukon River Drainage Fisheries Association (YDFRA) meeting on June 29, the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission’s director, Stephanie Quinn-Davidson, announced plans to request a new disaster declaration this season.
One was submitted last year that was led up by YRDFA and Yukon Delta Fisheries Development Association. They took the lead on disaster requests last year. The fish commission, AVCP, TCC all signed on to it. We ll be doing it again this year, said Quinn-Davidson.
Credit Craig Springer, UFWS / Flickr Creative Commons
Yukon River Chinook and summer chum salmon are both coming in near or below the lower end of the preseason forecast. There’s concern about escapement, and fishing closures have left river residents without a staple of their diet.
The Yukon River Fisheries Drainage Association hosts weekly teleconferences where river residents, fishery organization leaders, and government resource managers talk about what’s happening with salmon up and down the river. There wasn t much positive news during the June 29 teleconference. Yukon River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission chair Brooke Woods shared a dismal Chinook count from the Pilot Station sonar near the river’s mouth.
While a below-average fall salmon harvest is expected to still be sufficient, the summer runs will be more scarce, according to the report from the Department of Fish and Game.