June 1 marks the season’s first set net opening on the lower Kuskokwim River. The 16-hour opening runs from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. within the river’s federal waters, from the mouth upstream to Aniak.
Set nets are restricted to 6-inch or less mesh, 60-feet or less in length, and may not exceed 45 meshes in depth. Set nets must lie perpendicular to the river and may not be operated more than 100 feet from the ordinary high-water mark. Set nets must be spaced 150 feet apart from other set nets.
There will be additional set net openings from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, June 4 and Wednesday, June 8. There will be 12-hour drift net openings on Sunday, June 12 and Thursday, June 16 from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
June 1 is also when gillnet restrictions take effect on the lower Kuskokwim River. Beginning at 12:01 a.m. the lower river, from the mouth upstream to Aniak, will close to gillnets. It will reopen during the scheduled set net openings.
Tributaries where salmon are known to spawn will close to gillnets on June 1 and remain closed through the summer fishing season. These tributaries are the Eek River, Kwethluk River, Kasigluk River, Kisaralik River, Tuluksak River, and Aniak River. The area where the Aniak River flows into the Kuskokwim mainstem, known as the “Aniak box,” will also close to gillnets.
All other Kuskokwim River tributaries will close to gillnets from their confluence with the Kuskokwim River to 100 yards upstream. Subsistence fishing with gillnets will remain open upstream of that 100-yard closure area.
When the river is closed, subsistence users can still fish, but with limited gear, using rod and reel, dip nets, beach seines, and fish wheels. Any salmon caught with these methods in federal waters from the Kuskokwim River mouth upstream to Aniak can be kept.
The Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge will manage the lower river salmon fishery in consultation with the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. Only local subsistence users will be allowed to fish for salmon in these federal waters. State authorities will manage the river from Aniak upstream to the headwaters.
The regulations are meant to conserve Chinook and chum salmon stocks, which are expected to return in low numbers again this summer.
