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Alaskan Yukon River Salmon Fisheries
Alaskan Fish Wheels - Courtesy of Bill Fliris
Subsistence Salmon Fishery

Alaskan Fisheries - Courtesy of Erin McLarnonAll Alaskan residents can qualify to engage in subsistence salmon fishing activities unless the resource is limited. According to Alaska laws and regulations (Tier II) during times of resource shortage, residents most dependent on and with the least alternative resources to salmon are provided first access to the resource. However, under federal law and regulations only qualified rural residents are awarded a preference for the subsistence priority on applicable waters at all times.

Alaska Fisheries - Courtesy of ADFGAlaskan Yukon River residents carry out subsistence fishing activities based either from a fish camp or home village. To harvest salmon drift gillnets, set gillnets, fish wheels and rod and reel are used. Gillnets are the primary gear type utilized throughout the drainage, however, fish wheels are typically found in the Yukon Flats and Rampart Region within the Alaskan portion of the drainage.
Eagle, AK Fishery - Courtesy of Andy BassichA significant portion of the salmon harvested are frozen, dried, or smoked for later human consumption. Extended family groups (often three generations) commonly work together to harvest, cut and preserve salmon for subsistence use. To preserve salmon, fishers normally split or hang fish whole to dry. The number of dogs within a household is considered a major factor affecting the amount of subsistence chum salmon a household needs, as feeding dogs for transportation is an identified use under subsistence law. In addition, salmon harvested within applicable federal public lands can be sold under federal customary trade rules, but can not be sold to commercial fisheries businesses.
Emmonak, AK Commercial Fishing Boat

The first recorded exported commercial salmon harvest in the Alaskan portion of the Yukon River drainage occurred in 1918. However, before this time, commercial sale of salmon for feeding dog teams and draft animals existed, but was poorly documented. Between 1925 and 1931 the Chinook salmon export commercial fishery was closed due to concerns for the subsistence fishery, but resumed at a reduced level in 1932. Commercial fisheries for Chinook salmon continued to occur annually with a commercial fishery for chum salmon occurring sporadically until 1961, when it too continued to occur annually. Yukon River commercial fisheries continued to grow until participation levels were stabilized by implementation of limited entry in 1976. In 2003, a total of 932 (703 lower river and 229 upper river) commercial permits were active for all salmon fisheries within the Alaskan portion of the Yukon River.

Emmonak, AK Commercial FisheryMost commercial fishers are residents of the Yukon River drainage and many subsistence fishers also participate in the commercial fishery. The cash income derived from the commercial fishery assists many area-residents in their subsistence lifestyle. Income earned from commercial fishing is often used to obtain hunting and fishing gear, such as nets, boats, and outboard motors utilized in subsistence activities.

Most commercial fishers operate outboard powered skiffs of 18 to 24 feet (5.5-7.0m) in length. Very few skiffs have gillnet rollers or power reels of any type. The use of larger outboard motors (greater than 100 horsepower), fish finders, and better means for communication (such as VHF radios) has increased fleet efficiency.

Emmonak, AK Commercial Processing PlantMost of the harvest is now processed as a fresh or frozen product, which is in direct contrast to earlier years when canning and salting were the primary preservation methods. To be processed in this ‘modern’ fashion, shore-based or floating operations exist, as well as processing facilities capable of quickly transporting harvested salmon by aircraft. Although most commercial harvests are processed outside the drainage, limited “value added” products are now produced locally. Small quantities of Chinook, fall chum, and coho salmon are smoke-cured and sold as ‘strips’, and a few salmon are sold whole to local markets.

Alaskan Fisheries - Courtesy of Bill FlirisAlaska state law defines personal use fishing as “the taking, fishing for, or possession of finfish, shellfish, or other fishery resources, by Alaska residents for personal use and not for sale or barter, with gill or dip net, seine.” In 1986, the Alaska Board of Fisheries (BOF) created personal use salmon fisheries in the Alaskan portion of the drainage when subsistence fishing and hunting was limited to rural Alaska residents. While personal use fishing opportunities were open to all Alaskans, they were provided primarily for residents whose subsistence uses were no longer allowed because an area was deemed as urban under state law by change in the population, economy, and character of the area’s dependence on uses of fish and game.

Alaskan Fisheries - Courtesy of Bill FlirisConversely, rural subsistence fishers were provided subsistence fishing opportunity only in rural areas on stocks with customary and traditional uses as determined by the BOF. Even though more efficient gear than that allowed for sport fishing was permitted in personal use fisheries, this use has never had a priority over subsistence uses; it is equal to other non-subsistence uses in the allocation system.

Between 1988 and 2003, regulations regarding personal use fisheries changed numerous times. However, a constant provision has been that personal use fishing can occur anywhere in the state and participation is open to all Alaska residents.

Sport fishing for salmon in the Alaskan portion of the Yukon drainage is quite low and most annual sport harvests of salmon come primarily from the Tanana River drainage. Most clear water tributary streams, in the Alaskan portion of the Yukon River drainage, are remote and inaccessible, thereby severely limiting sport fishing opportunity. Therefore, sport harvests are typically small in relation to total catch. During the last 10 years, annual harvest of Chinook Alaskan King Salmon - Courtesy of Bill Flirissalmon from the entire Alaskan portion of the Yukon River drainage has averaged about 1,500 fish; approximately 1,400 of these came from the Tanana portion of the drainage. Sport harvests of coho salmon and chum salmon have averaged less than a thousand fish per year with most coming from the Tanana River drainage.

In the Tanana drainage, locally popular sport fisheries for Chinook salmon occur in the lower Chena and Salcha Rivers- downstream from the spawning areas. In the remainder of the Alaskan portion of the Yukon River drainage, small sport harvests of Chinook, chum and coho salmon are reported from the Andreafsky, Anvik, Porcupine and Koyukuk Rivers. Rod and reel fishing for salmon is practiced by some rural residents and by non-local anglers who visit for the purpose of sport fishing.