Public Media for Alaska's Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Kuskokwim Could Be Seeing Late Silver Salmon Run

Silver salmon fills the bottom of a boat during a subsistence opening in August 2016 near Bethel.
Katie Basile
/
KYUK

The Kuskokwim River is seeing a slow silver salmon run this year, but recent data suggests that the numbers might be building.

“It doesn’t look like an extremely great run,” said Alaska Department of Fish and Game Kuskokwim Fishery Manager Aaron Tiernan as he looked over recent reports.

“So right now, the run is tracking below the five and 10 year averages."

But Tiernan says that could soon change. In the last few days, the number of silvers caught in the state-operated Bethel Test Fishery have increased. Going by the historic averages the silvers would be three-quarters of the way through their run, but the recent influx could mean that they’re just arriving late.

“Based on the next few days of data," said Tiernan, "we can see if it continues to build more or not; if it’s going to start to drop off a little bit.”

Earlier in the season, many subsistence families said that they would rely on silvers to finish filling their freezers and smokehouses after catching fewer salmon than desired this year amid tight gillnet restrictions to conserve king salmon in the Kuskokwim.

Anna Rose MacArthur served as KYUK's News Director from 2015-2022.