By federal emergency order, a large portion of the Kuskokwim River will be closed to gillnets this summer to conserve King salmon.
Beginning June 12, federal public waters of the Kuskokwim main-stem and salmon tributaries within the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge will be closed to gillnets.
The decision comes from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in consultation with the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
Salmon tributaries included in the closure are the Eek, Kwethluk, Kasigluk, Kisaralik, Tuluksak, and Aniak. This includes branch rivers of the Lower Kuskokwim on the east bank that lead to the Eek River.
Even with the closure, managers may schedule gillnet openings in these federal waters for subsistence users.
State biologists are predicting a King salmon run similar to last year in the Kusko, again falling below the historic average.
