Weak kings, strong chum: the Yukon's salmon rules split by the run

On the Yukon this week, which salmon you're allowed to catch depends on how its run is doing — and the runs are doing very different things. Kings are weak, so restrictions on them continue. Summer chum is strong, so new fishing openings are arriving. And fall chum has slipped enough that the Lower Yukon is being closed early.

In the coastal villages of the Lower Yukon — Emmonak, Kotlik, Alakanuk, Nunam Iqua — subsistence fishing for fall chum and coho closed Monday, three days ahead of the usual schedule, after the state flagged fall chum as a stock of concern. Fishing for whitefish and other non-salmon species stays open on a limited weekly schedule.

The kings remain the worry. This year's Chinook run, though better than forecast, is still well below average and isn't expected to meet escapement goals — including the Canadian-bound fish meant to cross the border. So king restrictions hold across much of the river, and any Chinook caught in selective gear must be released alive. Summer chum is the bright spot: a strong run, projected above 900,000 fish, has opened selective-gear fishing upriver near Tanana and Rampart through early August.

For the Yup'ik and Athabascan communities along the river, the rules land on the freezer. The Yukon River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission and other Native organizations have long argued that years of closures have devastated subsistence families, and that food security and culture deserve more weight in these decisions alongside conservation.