Kuskokwim River
RSSNews from Kuskokwim River, Alaska
Bering Sea pollock fleet nears its 2026 limits as salmon bycatch debate continues
The Bering Sea pollock fleet nearly has its 2026 limits. Yukon tribes say salmon fishing stayed closed; a tribal group says bycatch rules are years off.
by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read
Trawl groups ask fishery council to shrink Steller sea lion closures; conservation groups object
Trawlers want the North Pacific council to shrink Steller sea lion fishing closures, citing fuel and safety. Conservation groups and a tribal commission object.
by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read
Fairbanks logs wettest September since 1925 as Chena River hits late-season record
Fairbanks just had its rainiest September since 1925, and the Chena River hit a record high for so late in the year. No flooding, thanks to slow rain.
by Alaska News1w ago2 min read
Court-ordered review models what a large Donlin Gold dam failure would do downstream
A court-ordered review modeled what a Donlin Gold dam failure would do downstream. The Corps calls any failure extremely unlikely; the worst cases are severe.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago4 min read
Weather service cancels flood watch for Bethel, Kwethluk and nearby Kuskokwim villages
The weather service canceled its flood watch for Bethel, Kwethluk and nearby villages Friday, plus a coastal warning. The river is still high for the season.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Aniak's Bush-Tell has drawn more than $12 million in federal support to serve river villages
An Aniak phone company has drawn more than $12 million in federal support to keep calls and internet running in villages along the Kuskokwim and Yukon.
by Melinda Communities.News3w ago2 min read
Kipnuk and Kwigillingok face coastal flooding as rain threatens Kwethluk and Kasigluk again
Kipnuk and Kwigillingok are under a coastal flood warning through Saturday, and rain could flood Kwethluk and Kasigluk again after last week's high water.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Search continues for missing Akiachak boater Jonathan Lomack
Jonathan Lomack, 59, of Akiachak, has been missing on the Kuskokwim River since Tuesday night, with his boat found empty and search crews from three communities now in their third day looking for him.
by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read
Kuskokwim closures lifted because the coho run ended, not because it recovered
Six weeks of Kuskokwim subsistence closures lifted Friday, not because the coho finally came back but because the run is over for the year.
by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read
Bethel flooding is forecast to return with Thursday morning's tide
The Kuskokwim River pushed water into low-lying Bethel this week and is expected to rise again Thursday, as onshore winds hold it back from draining.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
A Bering Sea storm brings flooding and high winds to the Y-K Delta
A Bering Sea storm is bringing coastal flooding and damaging winds to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, including Kipnuk, still rebuilding from last year's typhoon.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Flood watches cover McGrath and Fairbanks as one storm moves across Alaska
Flood watches take effect Monday for McGrath and Tuesday for Fairbanks as a multi-day storm brings heavy rain and wind across Alaska through Saturday.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read
NWS forecasts water 5 feet above high tide at Golovin through Friday
Water is forecast 3 to 5 feet above the normal high tide line at Golovin through Friday, the third stretch of high water there in three weeks.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Pollock official puts bycatch impact on Western Alaska runs at 1.9%
Pollock fishing in the Bering Sea reduces Western Alaska salmon returns by 1.9% on average, but a proposed cap on chum bycatch won't take effect until 2028 and tribal groups say it's still not enough.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
The Kuskokwim Delta's high tides have passed. Forecasters expected no flooding.
High tides Friday and Saturday will peak a foot above normal along the Kuskokwim Delta, but forecasters expect no flooding in Kipnuk, Kwigillingok, Kongiganak and Quinhagak.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Bethel Fire Department recruits nationally for a captain and firefighters
Bethel Fire Department is recruiting a captain and firefighters nationally to fill gaps in its eight-person career staff serving over 6,000 residents.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Water forecast 2 to 4 feet above normal high tide in Eastern Norton Sound
Water along Eastern Norton Sound should run 2 to 4 feet above normal high tide from late Thursday into Saturday, with beach erosion likely.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Troopers rule Akiak house fire non-criminal
A home burned in Akiak in July with no injuries reported. State investigators have closed the case, finding the cause undetermined but not criminal.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min read
Former Rep. Carl Morgan, mayor of Aniak and Kuskokwim Native leader, has died
Former state Rep. Carl Morgan of Aniak, who served in the House from 1999 to 2004 and led communities along the Kuskokwim River, has died. Gov. Dunleavy will order flags lowered statewide.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Subsistence coho fishing closes on the middle and upper Kuskokwim
Subsistence coho fishing closes Friday on the middle Kuskokwim and a week later upriver. Sonar counts are running about a third below average for the date.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
CDC orders $1.4 million more Atlanta construction from an Anchorage firm
CDC awarded Anchorage firm MTNT Construction $1.4 million in federal construction orders over five days in August, but the agency did not disclose what the work is for or where it will happen.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read
Supreme Court declines to review Alaska's challenge to rural subsistence priority
The Supreme Court declined to hear Alaska's challenge to federal subsistence priority, leaving rural residents with first claim to fish and game on federal waters when supplies run short.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago5 min read
The state closes Kuskokwim subsistence coho fishing as the run lags
The state closed subsistence coho fishing on the Kuskokwim River, cutting off a key food source mid-run as the coho run comes in far below average.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Kuskokwim coho fishing slow in early August as Bethel sonar counts run low
Coho fishing on the lower Kuskokwim has been very slow in early August amid high water and low Bethel sonar counts, though escapement should still be met.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Bethel weighs buying road salt before the river freezes
Bethel is weighing $55,000 in road salt before freeze-up — in a town with no highway in or out, once the Kuskokwim freezes, the barges bringing it stop.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Begich bill would make Alaska trawlers carry salmon excluder gear
Alaska's delegation wants trawlers to carry salmon excluders and seafloor sensors, as bycatch keeps killing Chinook from western Alaska's collapsed runs.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
AVCP chief executive presents on Arctic typhoons as Inuit assembly closes in Iqaluit
AVCP's CEO presented on Arctic typhoons at an Inuit assembly in Iqaluit, highlighting how Typhoon Halong destroyed homes and displaced hundreds in Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta villages in October 2025.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
Kuskokwim mainstem reopens early as six spawning tributaries stay closed to Chinook and chum
Strong sonar counts returned the Kuskokwim mainstem to state management July 13, but six spawning tributaries stay closed to Chinook and chum through July 31.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Kuskokwim Bay subsistence fishing closes so commercial boats can fish
Kuskokwim Bay subsistence fishing closes Monday through Friday so the same waters can open to commercial fishing — the latest such swap this month.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Frederick Sound chum stays below average as pink salmon rebound
Chum Slumps. Chum Slumps. Chum Slumps.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Western Alaska leaders take food security to a circumpolar assembly
Western Alaska tribal leaders are in Nunavut for the first circumpolar Inuit assembly in nearly a decade, with food security high on the agenda.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Calista seeks airport land at Kwethluk, Napakiak to bring hardwired broadband
Calista Corporation wants to build broadband shelters on airport land in Kwethluk and Napakiak to bring hardwired internet to both villages.
by Alaska News2mo ago1 min read
ADF&G issues four commercial salmon emergency orders across Alaska Peninsula, Kuskokwim, and Kotzebue areas in three days
ADF&G issued four emergency orders in three days for salmon fisheries. • Sand Point and Port Moller openings target sockeye and mixed stocks. • Kuskokwim Bay and Kotzebue Sound orders adjust chum salmon harvest rules. • Fishermen must track shifting schedules as run conditions dictate changes.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Kuskokwim subsistence fishing reopens as salmon run strong
Subsistence fishing is back open on the lower Kuskokwim as salmon run strong — and the state is managing the mainstem again after losing a long fight over who controls the river.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Commercial fishing opens in Kuskokwim Bay as subsistence fishing closes
Commercial fishing opened in Kuskokwim Bay's Districts 4 and 5 through July 17, with subsistence fishing closed until the 18th — a real trade-off in a region built on salmon.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Kuskokwim subsistence households face empty freezers as salmon closures hold
Federal salmon closures on the Kuskokwim through July 31 are leaving subsistence households with few chances to harvest fish for winter, forcing families to buy more groceries as prices rise.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
North Pacific council directs Ecosystem Committee to revise 2004 groundfish policy goals
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council is updating 2004 groundfish goals. Tribal groups want stronger protections for salmon.
by Alaska Newsadded 3mo ago3 min read
Peltola tours the Interior on fish and costs — into a contested field
Peltola toured Interior Alaska on salmon and cost-of-living — but it's a campaign swing, not a coronation: Sullivan works the same ground and the same bycatch issue.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
Sullivan and Peltola, fighting over the same salmon
Sullivan introduced a bycatch bill he calls the most sweeping ever; Peltola, who's owned the salmon issue for years, counters with a tougher plan. The science is contested.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Sullivan's Bycatch Bill Wades Into Alaska's Hardest Fish Fight
Sullivan's sweeping bycatch bill targets trawl salmon catch — a real and raw grievance, even as federal science pins Alaska's river collapses mostly on a warming ocean.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago3 min read