Aside from a possible brief opening to harvest summer chum salmon, 2025 will be the sixth consecutive year of total salmon fishing closures on the Yukon River.
Beginning June 1, the first of a series of rolling salmon fishing closures will go into effect on the lower Yukon. The closures will then work their way upriver, following chinook and summer chum salmon on their journey toward the Canadian border.
As in recent years, residents will be able to harvest non-salmon fish using 4-inch set nets, considered small enough to avoid catching salmon, but not totally able to avoid incidental catch. But even those nets will be limited for periods of the summer.
Yukon River federal in-season manager Holly Carroll explained in a public hearing hosted by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in May that a two-week complete gillnet closure put in place last year to protect chinook will likely be extended.
"Chinook harvest in some areas did still increase. And so for this year, we think a three-week closure at the height of the chinook run time to move upriver with the chinook would better protect them and might reduce some of that incidental harvest that's still occurring in those 4-inch gillnets," Carroll said.
According to Carroll, the 4-inch set nets used to harvest non-salmon species will also be limited in the later part of the season to protect fall chum and coho runs. Beginning July 16, fisheries managers plan to limit their use to a three-day weekend schedule.
As part of the recent hearing, residents of communities along hundreds of miles of river shared about the loss of culture and economic hardship faced as a result of the salmon closures, as well as the health issues that come with an increasing reliance on non-Native foods.
And the restrictions reach far beyond the mouth of the Yukon River. Residents of Hooper Bay and Chevak, more than 100 miles away, echoed many of the same concerns as Yukon communities, but also expressed doubts that their coastal harvests were directly impacting the river’s stocks.
Carroll explained that ocean harvests of chinook by the coastal communities have historically been small. She said that more research is needed to understand run composition, but that tagging studies have shown the restrictions are biologically justified.
"The truth is that the entire Yukon area, all the fish passing that area, are very likely to be Yukon-oriented because of the timing of them coming past your villages. They're unlikely to be completely Kuskokwim or completely Norton Sound. So we have to protect them," Carroll said.
Overall, the total Yukon River chinook run is projected to be roughly 72,000 fish. Just 30,000 of these are expected to make it across the Canadian border, where an international agreement was signed last year to completely suspend the harvest of Yukon River chinook salmon for seven years.
The fall chum salmon run and much smaller coho salmon run are also projected to fall well below what managers consider a harvestable surplus. In 2024, both species saw their third-lowest returns on record.
The summer chum run, a small bright spot for some Yukon River communities in recent years, is likely to meet the upper end of escapement goals. If opened, harvest would be limited to less efficient, selective gear like dip nets that allow chinook to be released alive. But federal and state fisheries managers, who together manage the river in a patchwork, have agreed on a cautious approach due to low run sizes in the years when the fish’s parents spawned.
Yukon River salmon fishing closures
Coastal District and District 1 (Chevak, Hooper Bay, Scammon Bay, Emmonak, Nunam Iqua, Alakanuk, Kotlik)
Effective 8 p.m. Sunday, June 1, chinook and summer chum salmon fishing is closed. Gillnets larger than 4-inch are not allowed. Gillnets of 4-inch or smaller mesh may be used to target non-salmon and are restricted to 60-feet or less in length and must be operated as a set net near shore.
District 2 (Mountain Village, Pitkas Point, St. Mary’s, Pilot Station, Marshall)
Effective 8 p.m. Tuesday, June 3, Chinook and summer chum salmon fishing is closed. Gillnets larger than 4-inch are not allowed. Gillnets of 4-inch or smaller mesh may be used to target non-salmon and are restricted to 60-feet or less in length and must be operated as a set net near shore.
Dip nets, beach seines, and hook and line gear may be used for non-salmon and pink and sockeye salmon; however, chinook and summer chum salmon must be released alive.
