Olivia Ebertz
News ReporterOlivia was a News Reporter for KYUK from 2020-2022.
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Lorraina Prince of Kotlik said that her community is suffering. “A lot of people here don't have any salmon to eat. And that's really sad because it's not fair to our people, to the whole people of the Yukon River. And you know, Area M [is] doing really good. I never thought it would come to this point,” Prince said.
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The council also approved a ballot proposition and granted funding to two community projects and firefighters' salaries.
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In the wake of chum salmon crashes in Western Alaska, subsistence fishermen have been pleading with the state to restrict commercial salmon fishing near the Alaska Peninsula. Commercial and subsistence fishermen have been using fish genetics to bolster their claims to the fish.
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Plus, the council will look at allotting more of the budget to cover firefighters' overtime. The department has lost many volunteers over the past year.
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In the wake of chum salmon crashes in Western Alaska, subsistence fishermen have been pleading with the state to restrict salmon fishing near the Aleutian Islands. Subsistence users say that commercial vessels are taking fish bound for their rivers.
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The lion’s share of the chum, Chinook and sockeye runs are estimated to have passed by Bethel. Chum counts so far are nearly as low as they’ve ever been on the Kuskokwim, while Chinook are looking better than in recent years, but still down overall. Sockeye counts, however, are looking up.
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Chum and Chinook counts continue to trend downwards overall. Some fishermen hope that reds will take the place of chums on the river.
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The council also introduced a ballot proposition measure and a budget amendment.
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The openers are June 29 to June 30, and July 3 to July 4. Residents must keep their set nets near the riverbanks where Chinook and chum are less likely to swim.
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The ballot proposition will decide whether the City of Bethel has the authority to issue mask mandates. A budget amendment could reallocate over $50,000 to the fire department.