Hunting & Fishing

The lower Yukon River, one of the nation’s poorest regions, has one major industry: chum salmon fishing. The summer fishery usually opens at the beginning of June, but this year it didn’t open until July. KYUK visited Kwik'Pak Fisheries in Emmonak, the only company buying lower Yukon salmon, to talk with people about the late season’s economic impact.

For many people living along the lower Yukon river, commercial fishing is their primary income. After the Yukon summer chum salmon arrived late and weak this year, the fishing season that just started is about to come to an end.

Subsistence families along the Kuskokwim River are cutting open fish to find white balls or white streaks deforming the meat. The marks are formed from the parasites ichthyophonus and henneguya, also known as tapioca disease. Subsistence users are familiar with these parasites, but Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist Aaron Tiernan says his office has never received as many reports of the diseases as they have this season. He attributes the extreme growth to warm water in the Bering Sea and Kuskokwim River.

On the Kuksokwim River, king salmon are arriving in slightly higher numbers than previous years at this point in the season. Red salmon are coming in strong like they have in recent summers. Meanwhile, biologists are asking, "Where are the chum?" Chum salmon are arriving in much lower numbers than previous years in rivers across Western Alaska. KYUK asked the researcher who tracks these numbers on the Kuskokwim what’s going on.