Salmon

A University of Alaska Fairbanks study focusing on the Deshka River found that the predators have become even more voracious as the climate has warmed.

Three tribal organizations from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta have launched a new resource page for their ongoing salmon advocacy partnership.

The funds come after the U.S. Secretary of Commerce declared a disaster for the 2021 subsistence fishery and set aside roughly $570,000. Eligible households are those whose ability to access subsistence salmon from the Kuskokwim River drainage was impacted as a direct or indirect result of the fishery disaster.

The council, which manages fisheries in federal waters off Alaska, shifted to an online-only October meeting and now may postpone some of its planned work.

The short and straightforward report published in the journal Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research (AAAR) seeks to sum up a long-term, complex issue.

Amid an outcry from tribes and subsistence advocates, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council said funding and scheduling concerns could delay final action on chum bycatch until April 2026.

Aside from a possible brief opening to harvest summer chum, 2025 will be the sixth consecutive year of total salmon fishing closures on the Yukon River.

The disappearance of glaciers is not only leading to the creation of new fish habitat, but it's also creating opportunities for the multibillion-dollar mining industry.

The management strategy for waters within the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge (YDNWR) is nearly identical to that seen in 2024. Through mid-June, that will include three set net-only opportunities followed by a pair of drift and/or set gillnet openers.

The issue pits a multibillion-dollar industry against Western Alaska subsistence communities struggling with record-low salmon returns — with climate change playing a pivotal role.