Subsistence

Subsistence salmon fishing reopens on the Tanana and Yukon after closures

Subsistence salmon fishing is reopening on the Tanana and Yukon rivers after a summer of closures, as the runs recover — though the long decline isn't over.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

BLM rule would let NPR-A operators waive subsistence conditions without public notice

A new BLM rule lets oil and gas operators in Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve waive mitigation conditions, including four protections for subsistence hunting, without public notice.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read

Copper River dipnet and subsistence fishing runs through Sept. 30

Copper River dipnetters have until Sept. 30 to fish, closing out a below-average sockeye year — and the river gauge is down, so check conditions first.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

The Forest Service approved logging it says may restrict subsistence hunting

The Forest Service approved Revillagigedo logging its own analysis says may significantly restrict subsistence deer hunting. A tribe and two groups sued.

by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read

Tanana subsistence chum fishing reopens while coho stays closed

Tanana subsistence fishers can take chum around the clock again. Coho stay closed, with the run projected near a third of its historical average.

by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read

Fairbanks's chum salmon fishery reopens on the Tanana on Friday

Fairbanks-area households can fish for chum salmon on the Tanana again starting Friday, after a strong Yukon run — but coho must be released and limits apply.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Yukon families get chum back, but only in the tributaries

Yukon families can take chum again, but only in the tributaries. The mainstem carries the Canadian-origin run, projected far below its border goal.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Follows: Yukon fall salmon fishing closes at the peak of the season, not for a weak run but to meet Canada's share

A Situk River king salmon closure is extended as returns fall short

A Situk River fishing closure protecting weak king runs is extended through Aug. 31 — one of several 2026 restrictions on a key Yakutat subsistence river.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom Aug 13

Follows: Situk River's Nine Mile Bridge stretch stays closed to all fishing through Aug. 31

AFN holds a subsistence listening session in Fairbanks on Aug. 31

The Alaska Federation of Natives holds a subsistence listening session in Fairbanks on Aug. 31, gathering harvesters' and elders' input on the future of subsistence.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

A miner wants to run a cable across the Koyukuk and camp on its bank for five years

The public can comment through Sept. 2 on a plan for a supply cable across the Middle Fork Koyukuk River and a six-person mining camp on its bank for 5 years.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Knik Tribe awarded $5 million to design fish passage fixes on Talkeetna Spur Road

Eight culverts on the Talkeetna Spur Road block salmon from more than 66 miles of stream. The Knik Tribe got $5 million to design the fixes.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Alaska's seat on the halibut commission is open, and you can nominate yourself

Alaska's seat on the commission that sets Pacific halibut catch limits is open. Nominations close Sept. 14, and self-nominations are accepted.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

NOAA pays $1.57 million for samples from subsistence-harvested seals

NOAA is paying $1.57 million for samples from seals Alaska Native hunters take for food. The science depends on hunters volunteering what they harvested.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

A toxic bloom killed fur seals off St. George with the highest saxitoxin level ever recorded in the species

A toxic bloom killed fur seals off St. George with the highest saxitoxin level ever recorded in the species. Tribal monitors get another year to track it.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Yakutat opened a short sockeye gillnet fishery, with kings still off-limits

Yakutat opened a short sockeye gillnet fishery in mid-August, but king salmon stayed off-limits as the Situk River's king run keeps declining.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo 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 AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

A declining Fortymile caribou herd, short hunts, and a dispute over timing

A declining Fortymile caribou herd has forced short, tightly capped hunts. Tribes say the state's timing this year cut into the federal subsistence priority.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Yukon coho are running far below normal, and even a strong chum year likely won't reopen fishing

Yukon River coho are running far below normal as their peak season opens, and even a strong fall chum year likely won't reopen subsistence fishing.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Fall chum and coho fishing is closed across the Tanana drainage

Fall chum and coho fishing is closed across the Tanana drainage through year's end, a precautionary move after chum was listed as a stock of concern.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Yukon fall salmon fishing closes at the peak of the season, not for a weak run but to meet Canada's share

Yukon fall salmon fishing closed at the peak of the season for Interior households — not for a weak run, but because Canada's treaty share has to pass first.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Upper Koyukuk and Innoko villages can keep every salmon again starting Monday

Six Koyukuk River villages and Shageluk can keep all salmon they catch starting Monday after Fish and Game confirmed local chum are a different stock than Canadian-protected fall chum.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

In Kake, showing up means a vote on fish and game

Any voting-age Kake resident who shows up can nominate and vote at the fish and game advisory committee's Aug. 26 meeting in the subsistence-salmon village.

by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

Yukon fall chum and coho fishing closes as the Canadian-bound run comes in far below treaty levels

Yukon fall chum and coho fishing closes Saturday as the Canada-bound run falls far below treaty levels, deepening food-security strain for families.

by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 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 AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

Shaktoolik and Unalakleet subsistence fishers must pull beach seines Tuesday

Shaktoolik and Unalakleet subsistence fishers must pull beach seines by Tuesday, part of Norton Sound's king salmon conservation effort. Gillnets stay open.

by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read

Yukon salmon conservation rules are now locked into state regulation, not left to managers' discretion

Yukon salmon conservation is now binding state regulation — fixed thresholds that keep the river's own commercial and much subsistence fishing closed.

by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read

AFN gathers Dillingham voices on the future of subsistence

AFN holds a four-hour listening session in Dillingham on Aug. 12 to gather subsistence harvesters' input on how Alaska's subsistence future should be managed.

by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

Want to spear whitefish by lantern light? The permit deadline is Friday

Alaska households have until Friday to enter the lottery for 400 permits to spear whitefish by lantern light on the Chatanika River this fall.

by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

Pollock fleet holds an Anchorage job fair days before a bycatch-shaped election

Days before the final vote, the Bering Sea pollock fleet holds an Anchorage job fair — as salmon bycatch, and a new mandatory chum cap, roil the 2026 campaign.

by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago3 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 AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read

Four dipnet openings left at Chitina in August

Chitina dipnetters have four 48-hour openings left in August and can't keep any kings, after a below-average sockeye run and a weak Copper River king return.

by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

Yukon fall salmon subsistence fishing closes as the run falls short

Fall chum and coho subsistence fishing is closing across the upper Yukon as the run falls short, the last in a season of closures that moved steadily up the river.

by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read

Kenai dipnet season closes after another strong sockeye run

The Kenai River personal use dipnet fishery closed for 2026 after a late-run sockeye return near 3 million, again clearing Fish and Game's escapement goals. Kasilof stays open through Aug. 7.

by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read

Chitina dipnetters can keep sockeye but must release every king

Chitina dipnetters can catch sockeye but must release all kings this season, as weak Copper River runs raise an old question: which fishery fishes less first?

by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

Weak sockeye run tightens fishing at Saltery Creek, twice in two days

A no-show sockeye run at Kodiak's Saltery Creek closes extra subsistence waters and cuts the sport limit from five fish to two, two restrictions in two days.

by Alaska News3mo ago1 min read

The state ordered Cook Inlet setnetters onto gear their permits don't allow

Alaska ordered Cook Inlet setnetters onto gear their permits don't allow, deepening a years-long squeeze on a fishery it controls in state waters.

by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read

Alaska opens all of Togiak to fishing with the sockeye count far below goal

Alaska is opening the whole Togiak District to commercial fishing with the sockeye count at a fraction of its goal — and no stated reason why.

by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

Copper River stays closed to commercial fishing as sockeye run under forecast

Copper River stays shut to commercial fishing as sockeye lag forecast; the only opening on the books is a 12-hour subsistence period Monday morning.

by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 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 AlaskaNews3mo 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 AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read