Hunting & Fishing

State waters of the Kuskokwim River could open 24/7 to gillnets beginning Tuesday, June 26th. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game made the recommendation to the Kuskokwim River Salmon Management Working Group in response to reports of low fishing harvests in the upper river due to high water.

For many residents of the Kuskokwim River, June is the most important month for subsistence salmon fishing. But in a small community, death can put a hold on that essential practice. A series of recent deaths in Kasigluk means that many families have barely begun putting away fish for the season.

The Kalskag area will now operate under different rules from the rest of the federal waters of the Kuskokwim River during subsistence gillnet openings. For the remaining fishing season, openings along the Kalskag area will last 12 hours longer than the rest of the lower river. This extension will apply from just downstream of Lower Kalskag up to the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge boundary at Aniak, encompassing around 50 miles of the Kuskokwim River. 

The number of king salmon swimming by Bethel seems to have dropped since Saturday’s subsistence fishing opener, and managers are postponing another opener in federal waters until the numbers rise. They also want to wait until more chum and sockeye salmon fill the river.

How you fish on the Kuskokwim River depends on where you are. According to local fishermen, how you fish near Upper and Lower Kalskag is unlike anywhere else on the river. Fishermen in these communities claim that their unique situation requires unique fishing regulations and are meeting with tribal, federal, and state managers Tuesday, June 19 to negotiate a solution.