Yukon River District 4 opens for summer chum; Chinook closures hold

Subsistence fishers in Yukon River villages from Grayling to Coldfoot can now retain summer chum, pink, and sockeye salmon using dip nets, beach seines, manned fish wheels, and hook and line, after the Alaska Department of Fish and Game issued Emergency Order 3-S-SY-21-26 on July 1. Gillnets remain closed. Every Chinook caught in selective gear must be released alive immediately. The Chinook closures that have defined recent seasons on the Yukon are not lifting.

Opening windows are staggered by location. In federal public waters adjacent to federal land, the opening is limited to federally qualified subsistence users in the Yukon River drainage. Fishers above Bettles on the Koyukuk River must hold a subsistence permit, and gillnet mesh there is restricted to 3.5 inches or smaller.

The opening is grounded in run numbers. Area Management Biologist Deena Jallen said: "As of June 30, an estimated 430,000 summer chum salmon have passed Pilot Station sonar. The historical midpoint of the run was on June 29. Current run size projections suggest that the run will be over 650,000 fish, exceed the lower end of the escapement goal range, and provide a surplus for subsistence harvest."

The Chinook picture is the opposite. Jallen said: "The 2026 Chinook salmon run has passed the historical midpoint for both normal (June 25) and late timing (June 29) and tracking similar to the below average runs of 2010 and 2021." The run is not expected to meet the 71,000 Canadian-origin border passage target under the 2024-2030 bilateral rebuilding agreement, which suspends directed commercial, sport, domestic, and personal use Chinook fisheries in the mainstem Yukon River and Canadian tributaries through 2030 regardless of run size. In 2025, no Chinook escapement goals were met and the Canadian-origin run was forecast at 24,000 to 37,000 fish, well below the border objective, closing all fisheries in the Canadian portion of the river.

Retention windows run from July 2 through July 21 in Subdistrict 4-A Lower, and July 2 through July 25 in Subdistrict 4-A Upper. In Subdistricts 4-B and 4-C, the window runs July 6 through July 28. In the Koyukuk River drainage through Coldfoot, it runs July 6 through July 25.

Fishers running wheels face a new compliance requirement. Jallen said: "Baskets must be lined with soft, seine type webbing, and chutes must have a smooth bottom and be lined with closed cell foam." The requirement is intended to reduce injury to incidentally caught Chinook. Fishers are also warned that if Chinook appear to be targeted while fishing for summer chum with selective gear, fishing will be further restricted.

Fall chum are also a major management concern this season. ADF&G has designated fall chum a Stock of Management Concern, and under recent plan amendments the fall season will start three days earlier than normal in each district. In the lower river, that transition begins July 13 rather than July 16, closing chum and coho retention as fall management moves upriver. Summer chum retention ends when fall season management begins.