Subsistence
RSSSubsistence in Alaska is the hunting, fishing, and gathering that rural and Alaska Native residents rely on for food. It covers moose, caribou, salmon, and other harvests managed through seasonal closures, permits, and openings across refuges, rivers, and rural Alaska.
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Week of Jul 20
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 AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Chatanika River whitefish spear lottery opens July 27
Everyone loves the lottery - this one for Fish
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Nine years of one-year permits in the waters where the North Slope hunts
Federal regulators are weighing a ninth straight one-year permit letting Navy research disturb whales and seals in the Beaufort and Chukchi — the waters where North Slope communities hunt.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Chitina's dipnet window shrinks to 48 hours as sockeye falter
Chitina dipnetters get 48 hours next weekend, half the window two weeks ago, after last week's sockeye count came in 26,000 fish short.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Chisana caribou subsistence hunt opens Aug. 10 with six-bull quota
Federal subsistence permits for Chisana caribou opened July 20, with hunting August 10 through September 30 or until six bulls are taken, limited to residents of five named Unit 12 communities.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min readFrom 
No Juneau beach is tested for the toxin in clams
No Juneau-area beach is regularly tested for the toxin in clams that can stop your breathing — and cooking does not destroy it.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Alaska closes District 4 subsistence fishing for fall chum and coho starting Wednesday
Alaska closes subsistence fishing for fall chum and coho salmon in District 4 starting Wednesday because the 2026 run is projected too weak to meet Canadian treaty obligations.
by Alaska News3mo ago2 min read
Yukon District 4 federal waters open to summer chum subsistence with selective gear only
Federal and state managers opened Yukon District 4 and Koyukuk River to summer chum subsistence harvest with selective gear only, banning gillnets to protect Chinook salmon through late July.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min readFrom 
More from Subsistence
Kreiss-Tomkins documents $20 milk, absent law enforcement in 11 Yukon River villages
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins documented $20 milk, $12 gas, scarce law enforcement, and collapsed salmon runs across 11 Yukon River villages in a four-day boat tour.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Wrangell-St. Elias subsistence permits open July 20 for Units 11 and 12
Subsistence permits for moose, goat, caribou, and sheep in Wrangell-St. Elias opened July 20 at Copper Center and Slana through September 20 for federally qualified rural Alaska residents.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Week of Jul 13
North Slope bearded seal hunters asked to save jaws for 2026 study
North Slope Borough is asking bearded seal hunters to save jaws and heads from their catch this year for a state study on seal population genetics.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Yukon District 3 closes to fall chum and coho subsistence Saturday as treaty goals fall short
Alaska closes fall chum and coho subsistence fishing in Yukon District 3 and Innoko River on Saturday because Canadian treaty goals will not be met.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Copper River stays closed to commercial fishing as Chinook run tracks weak
Copper River commercial salmon fishing stays closed through at least Saturday as Chinook counts track weak, though subsistence fishers get a 12-hour window Thursday morning.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Yukon Chinook count at Eagle stands at 1,633, a third of average; ADF&G launches telemetry study
Yukon Chinook salmon are running at one-third of normal, forcing subsistence closures, and ADF&G is tagging fish to find out why.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Kodiak conservation district seeks permit to spray glyphosate in Buskin watershed
Plant plant go away come get another day. Or, you don't have to.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Chitina dipnet fishery opens full 168 hours July 20–26 as salmon surplus builds
The Chitina dipnet fishery opens for a full week starting July 20 as salmon counts finally hit targets. King salmon remain off-limits.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Coming up
Federal Subsistence Moose Season Closure - Unit 5A East of Dangerous River
Unit 5A east of the Dangerous River, Yakutat, Alaska
Public notice
Effective: Alaska; Wildlife, Harvest, and Access
Public notice
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park Federal Subsistence Winter Moose Hunt Opens
Public notice
Comments close: Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve; Use of Off-Road Vehicles for Subsistence Purposes by Residents of Anaktuvuk Pass
Public notice
Public Comment Deadline: Gates of the Arctic National Park ORV Subsistence Use Proposed Rule
Public notice
About Subsistence
Subsistence in Alaska is the hunting, fishing and gathering that rural and Alaska Native households rely on for food. It takes in salmon, moose, caribou, whitefish, seals and other harvests, taken under permits, quotas and seasonal openings on rivers, refuges and parklands.
Federal and state managers decide when subsistence fishing opens and closes, often river by river, based on run counts and escapement goals. On the Yukon, fishing is also timed so Canadian-bound salmon can pass, and on the Kuskokwim and Copper rivers closures follow weak runs. The Federal Subsistence Board, the Board of Game, the Board of Fisheries and National Park Service rules shape who may harvest, where and with what gear.
Local advisory bodies, such as the subsistence commission for Wrangell-St. Elias, and tribes take part through public meetings and consultation. Subsistence connects to commercial fisheries through bycatch, such as the chum salmon taken by the Bering Sea pollock fleet.
More from Subsistence
A small gold permit, on a river fighting for its future
A routine gold-mining permit on a Susitna tributary is a small piece of a much bigger fight over a salmon river conservationists just named one of America's most endangered.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo 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 AlaskaNews4mo 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 AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
More than 200 Alaska watersheds have turned orange
Uh-ohh. More than 200 Brooks Range watersheds have turned orange in a decade as thawing permafrost releases iron and metals — rusting rivers that villages drink from and fish.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Week of Jul 6
Yukon summer chum run tops 900,000 projection, opening subsistence windows across drainage
Summer chum salmon run on the Yukon River is tracking above 900,000 fish, more than double the spring forecast, opening subsistence harvest windows across most of the drainage through late July.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min readFrom 
The Tanana opens for chum, but the kings must all go back
A strong chum run opens a Tanana personal-use fishery near Fairbanks July 27 — but every king caught must go back alive, and subsistence fishing there stays closed.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Weak kings, strong chum: the Yukon's salmon rules split by the run
On the Yukon this week: kings are weak so restrictions continue, summer chum is strong so openings arrive, and fall chum has slipped enough to close the Lower Yukon early.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Fish and Game will bring moose permits to four Nushagak River villages
Fish and Game will hand-deliver moose permits to four Nushagak River villages this year, so hunters without road access to Dillingham don't have to make the trip.
by Alaska News4mo ago1 min read
Yukon River gillnet closures spread as Chinook and chum run far below average
Alaska closed all Yukon River gillnet fishing after Chinook and chum runs fell far below historic averages, with Chinook passage at Pilot Station running 41 percent below the long-term average.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Week of Jun 29
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 AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Nushagak king salmon run on pace for near-record low season
Nushagak king salmon run is on pace for one of its weakest seasons since 1980, triggering a subsistence closure and forcing commercial fishermen to sell or donate all kings starting July 12.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Yukon River District 4 opens for summer chum; Chinook closures hold
Yukon River District 4 opens summer chum harvest July 2 through late July, but all Chinook must be released alive under a rebuilding agreement that closes Chinook fisheries through 2030.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago3 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 4mo 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 4mo ago2 min read
Week of Jun 22
Dipnetting the Kasilof? Record and clip before you stash your fish
Record and clip each salmon before it goes in your cooler, or risk a summons like the Wasilla man cited at Kasilof on June 27.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Federal migratory bird subsistence rules take effect across Alaska
Alaska's spring subsistence bird harvest is older than the U.S. — and a 1916 treaty effectively banned it until 1997. This week's update continues a hunt Native communities never gave up.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
A quiet change to how Alaska's bird seasons get set
The feds are slowing how often they rewrite migratory bird hunting rules — a wonky change that lands hardest in Alaska, the only state with a legal subsistence spring hunt.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo 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 AlaskaNews4mo ago3 min read
Kodiak's Easiest Sockeye River Shuts Down
Kodiak's road-system sockeye river is closing on a dismal 988-fish count — while Litnik, just across the island, is cruising past 15,000.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Federal rule renames Alaska subsistence bird-harvest region as Ahtna Territory
Federal wildlife officials renamed the Upper Copper River subsistence bird-harvest region as Ahtna Territory and aligned spring and summer harvest dates to match local Indigenous Knowledge.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Federal managers close Yukon, Innoko gillnets to protect Chinook and chum
Federal managers pulled every gillnet from part of the Yukon to spare the kings — leaving subsistence families to fill the freezer with slower gear, during the only weeks the fish run.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Week of Jun 15
Nalukataq season carries Alaska whaling traditions into summer
Nalukataq celebrations honoring bowhead whale hunts move across five northern Alaska communities from mid-June through early July, distributing whale meat and muktuk to mark the tradition.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
On one of the world's great king rivers, a 'poor' rating is partly the plan
Fish go bye bye? Oh no0ooo
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Yukon River gillnet ban hits lower river villages through July 5
Alaska closed all gillnets in lower Yukon River villages from mid-June through early July to protect Chinook and summer chum salmon stocks forecast well below average. • Closure affects Chevak, Hooper Bay, Emmonak, Alakanuk, and other communities that rely on gillnet fishing for food. • Fishers may still use dip nets, beach seines, and other gear; Chinook and chum must be released alive if caught.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 5mo ago2 min read
