On June 7, the Yukon River Drainage Fisheries Association (YRDFA) will kick off its seasonal weekly teleconferences. They occur each Tuesday at 1 p.m. through the end of August. These calls are open for every Yukon River resident in both Canada and the U.S. to share information about river conditions and the status of fish. In the past, residents have also used the conference to share concerns about bycatch, management decisions, climate change, and other issues impacting salmon.
Also on the call will be State and Federal managers, Canadian managers, Tribal groups, and scientists.
In 2021, the Yukon River saw its lowest chum salmon runs on record. It also saw higher than average chum bycatch numbers, so YRDFA extended an open invite to another entity to participate in this year’s teleconference. The North Pacific Fisheries Management Council has capped the amount of Chinook bycatch that trawlers can bring in, but has not done the same for chum. Many residents on the Yukon River and around the state have been advocating for caps on the amount of chum salmon bycatch too.
The North Pacific Fisheries Management Council said that it had not heard about the open invite, but generally participates in meetings where it is invited to present. YRDFA has also invited the state’s newly-formed bycatch task force to participate in this year’s meetings.
The call will take place June 7 at 1 p.m. To dial in, call 1-800-315-6338 and enter the access code 98566#.
