Alaska promises to do better on Yukon River salmon
CBC News Posted: Dec 06, 2013
International salmon talks with the Yukon River Panel have wrapped up in Whitehorse.
In the last seven years, Alaska has delivered its salmon quotas on the Yukon River, twice.
This year, the Alaskans are promising to do better.
Andrew Bassich is the U.S. delegate from Eagle, Alaska.
"We've reduced our effort down to 10 per cent or less in some cases of what was caught,” Bassich says. “I used to be a King salmon fisherman but with the current situation with Kings I have voluntarily stopped my fishing of King salmon."
Same goes for Erik Weingarth, who fishes out of St. Mary's at the mouth of the Yukon River.
"I only had King salmon one supper this whole year so there's no question that we on the U.S. side are trying to meet our obligations under the treaty."
Yukon First Nations have called for a complete ban on Yukon River Chinook salmon fishing, but the Americans say they cannot impose such drastic measures.
Weingarth says Alaskan laws protect subsistence fishing rights, so a statewide ban isn't possible.
Still, Weingarth and Bassich maintain the voluntary bans combined with education, and other restrictions, are turning things around.
"We need to work very closely with the fishers, the people using the fish on the river, to get full compliance from them to voluntarily reduce or stop their fishing,” Bassich says. “That's the best we can do at this time.”
The Alaskans have already implemented numerous measures to limit the subsistence fishing for Chinook in the lower Yukon River, but the 2013 run is being characterized as the worst in recorded history.
Canadian fisheries authorities on the panel refused to talk about their closed door meetings, but have promised a written statement next week
Yukon First Nations want Alaska salmon fishing closed
CBC News Posted: Dec 05, 2013
Yukon First Nations have repeated their call for Alaskans to stop fishing Chinook salmon until stocks can recover in the Yukon River.
Teslin Tlingit Chief Carl Sidney made the plea this week at salmon management talks in Whitehorse. The international Yukon River Salmon panel will wrap up a week of meetings this afternoon with a closed door planning session to determine a management plan for the 2014 Chinook salmon run.
Alaskan officials say they have enforced harvest cutbacks on their side of the border. Sidney, a former board member, commends recent cutbacks imposed in some Alaskan communities, but says a complete shutdown is required for the fishery to recover.
"There have been families and communities taking drastic measures but not everybody,” Sidney says. "When 106,000 salmon come into the mouth of the Yukon River and only 30,000 fish come across the Yukon border, where are the other 60,000-70,000? I know there are other tributaries where they go but where are the others?”
Alaskan delegates like Andy Bassich say they understand Sidney's concern.
"It's not like there isn't an effort, there's a lot of effort and a lot of concern," Bassich says.
But Sidney maintains the Chinook fishery needs to be shut down completely, until numbers recover.
"These measures that are in place now are not enough, never mind gearing down or using fish wheels or dip nets,” Sidney says. “We haven't fished period."
The 2013 Chinook run was among the worst on record, failing again to meet treaty mandated quotas into Canada.
