Yukon fall chum and coho subsistence closes July 13 as Chinook protections continue

Two overlapping salmon conservation measures are reshaping subsistence access across the Yukon drainage this week, with different rules applying in different districts: a new fall-season closure taking effect in the Lower Yukon while upriver areas see a mix of existing Chinook restrictions and new selective summer chum openings.

In the Coastal District and District 1, covering coastal villages including Emmonak, Kotlik, Alakanuk, and Nunam Iqua, directed subsistence fishing for fall chum and coho salmon closes at 12:01 a.m. Monday, July 13. The Alaska Board of Fisheries has designated fall chum a Stock of Management Concern, and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is transitioning the Lower Yukon to fall management three days earlier than normal in response. After the closure, nonsalmon fishing with 4-inch or smaller mesh gillnets, restricted to 60-foot set nets, will be allowed on a weekly schedule from noon Thursdays through noon Sundays. Designated sloughs and off-mainstem waterways will also remain open to 6-inch or smaller mesh set gillnets for whitefish and other nonsalmon species.

As of July 8, only an estimated 97,900 Chinook had passed the Pilot Station sonar, well below the historical average of 144,466 fish. The run has exceeded its preseason forecast but remains well below average and is not expected to meet escapement goals in Alaska or Canada. "Current projections indicate that the Canadian-Origin component of the Chinook salmon run will not meet the 71,000 border passage goal." Closures of 4-inch or smaller mesh gillnets remain in place across much of the drainage, though in the Coastal District and District 1 those nets are scheduled to reopen on a weekly Thursday-through-Sunday schedule beginning July 16, and all Chinook must be released alive from selective gear. The department warns that "if it appears that Chinook salmon are being targeted while fishing for summer chum with selective gear types, fishing will be further restricted."

Summer chum is the relative bright spot. An estimated 781,000 fish had passed Pilot Station as of that date, and inseason projections suggest the run will exceed 900,000 fish. In Subdistricts 5-A, 5-B, and 5-C, including Tanana and Rampart, selective gear fishing for summer chum opens at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 14, running through Aug. 2. Upriver in Subdistricts 6-A and 6-B on the Tanana River, summer chum fishing remains closed pending later openings. New 2026 fish wheel rules are designed to reduce Chinook injury during live-release: "Baskets must be lined with seine type webbing, and chutes must have a smooth bottom lined with closed cell foam."

The Yukon River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission and other Indigenous organizations have previously argued that prolonged closures and gear restrictions carry devastating impacts on subsistence-dependent communities, and that management decisions should give greater weight to local food security and cultural needs alongside conservation goals.