by the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission and Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge
Protecting fish and fishing cultures has been the motivation for all decisions made by the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge this season – both those that have closed the Federal waters of the Kuskokwim and opened them for subsistence harvest opportunities.
In June, about 33,470 fish have been harvested on the mainstem to date, including about 19,990 Chinook (king) salmon. Because of our continued conservation concerns for kings, Federal management will continue this year into July.
While the Kusko remains under Federal jurisdiction and harvest by gillnets remains closed until further notice, we need to fish. Federally qualified subsistence users will have opportunities to drift or set nets in July on the following dates:
•Friday, July 2, 2021, from 6:00 am to 3:00 pm (9 hours)
•Friday, July 9, 2021, from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm (12 hours)
•Friday, July 16, 2021, from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm (12 hours)
During these drift opportunities, subsistence fishermen and women may use 6-inch gillnet gear with the same length (300 feet below the Johnson River and 150 feet above) and depth (45 meshes or less) restrictions as earlier this season. Salmon-bearing tributaries will remain closed to gillnets and harvesting king salmon during these times.
Federally qualified subsistence users may also use set nets to harvest salmon during the following weekend dates:
•Saturday, July 10, 2021, starting at 12:01 am through Sunday, July 11, 2021, at 11:59 pm
•Saturday, July 17, 2021, starting at 12:01 am through Sunday, July 18, 2021, at 11:59 pm
Set nets must be 6-inches or less, 100 feet long or less, 45 meshes in depth or less, and not set more than 100 feet from the high-water mark. Please remember to write your name, phone number, and address on your set net buoy.
Outside of these dates and times, subsistence fishermen and women can harvest fish by:
•Fishing on non-salmon spawning tributaries, such as the Pailleq Slough and Tuntutuliak, Johnson, and Gweek Rivers.
•Fishing in the Kuskokwim Bay or above the Kalskag line.
•Using alternative means and methods, which include dip nets, fish wheels with live release boxes, beach seines, and hook and line. (Note: All king salmon caught using these gear types must be returned to the water alive.)
Our families on the Kuskokwim River are fishing families. We love anything that has to do with fish: catching fish, sharing fish, cutting and smoking and freezing and canning fish, eating fish with seal oil and pilot bread, creating dances and jewelry and artwork and stories about fish. Our Yupik and Athabascan cultures and ways of life are built on fish and fishing – put simply, we are made of fish.
KRITFC and the Refuge want to preserve our fishing livelihoods for generations to come. We hope that our work this season with all the fishermen and women of the Kuskokwim will ensure a future in which our children’s grandchildren spend their summers on the river, their nets full of salmon, knowing they are made of fish just like their ancestors.
For the full Federal fisheries closure information, please visit https://www.fws.gov/uploadedFiles/3-KS-03-21_Final_7.1.2021.pdf.
Please keep up with 2021 fishing information from KRITFC and the Refuge this fishing season by visiting our Facebook pages (@KuskoSalmon and @YukonDeltaRefuge) and websites (http://www.kuskosalmon.org and https://www.fws.gov/refuge/yukon_delta/). Call the Refuge at 543-3151 with questions.
