The controversial program, aimed at boosting the population of a struggling caribou herd in Western Alaska, had been halted by court rulings because of legal flaws.

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.

According to a public notice published on June 6, the board will meet in July in Anchorage to consider changing the state’s predator control program to allow the killing of “brown and black bears in addition to wolves to aid in the recovery of the Mulchatna caribou herd.”

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.

Superior Court Judge Christina Rankin, in an order issued May 19, said the department’s decision to shoot bears earlier this month in violation of a previous court ruling justified her decision to keep the temporary restraining order in place beyond the 10 days that is standard in Alaska law.

Thousands of rainbow smelts arrived in Bethel on the evening of May 21 on their annual migration up the Kuskokwim River to spawn. But for some smelts, the last stop on their journey was a dipnet.

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.

An emergency declaration by the Alaska Board of Game does not change the fact that the program is unconstitutional and the state failed to do required fixes, the judge ruled.

Both harvesting and egging for Emperor geese are closed this season. Black Brant geese can be harvested, but egging is not permitted.

If the state Department of Fish and Game predator control takes place, it would be the third year of a program that has so far killed 180 bears and 19 wolves.