2022 Fishing Information
KRITFC In-Season Managers, Executive Council members, Elder Advisors, and staff are actively working with our collaborative management partners at Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge to prepare for the upcoming salmon season.
Alaska Department of Fish & Game forecasts there will be a Chinook salmon return of 99,000 to 161,000 fish this season. Though these forecasts are not always accurate, recent fishing seasons tell us it is likely our king as well as chum salmon returns will be low in 2022. Because KRITFC and Yukon Delta NWR share a concern for the health of our Chinook and chum salmon populations, the Refuge Manager, Boyd Blihovde, will be pursuing federal jurisdiction of the lower Kuskokwim per his letter of delegation of authority from the Federal Subsistence Board. Federal jurisdiction will help ensure that both salmon conservation and harvest needs are prioritized so that our smokehouses today and tomorrow will be full.
Keep afloat of fishing information this season! Follow us on Facebook, sign up for our email newsletter, and check back to this page for regular updates as the season progresses.
Quyana! Tsen’anh! Thank you!
2022 Federal Management Actions
Emergency Special Action 3-KS-01-22: Announcing Federal Management and Early Season Subsistence Fishing Opportunities
Emergency Special Action 3-KS-02-22: Kalskag Bluffs Opening and Additional Subsistence Fishing Opportunities
Emergency Special Action 3-KS-03-22: Set Gillnet Subsistence Fishing Opportunities
Emergency Special Action 3-KS-04-22: Aniak Box Rod and Reel
Emergency Special Action 3-KS-05-22: July Drift and Set Gillnet Subsistence Fishing Opportunities
Emergency Special Action 3-KS-01-22 through 3-K-05-22 (rescinding): Federal Management Ends
2022 State Management Actions
Emergency Order 3-KS-V-02-22: Closing King Salmon Sport Fishing in the Kuskokwim River Drainage
Emergency Order 3-S-WR-01-22: Kuskokwim Bay Subsistence Fishing, District W-4
Emergency Order 3-S-WR-01-22: Kuskokwim River Subsistence Fishery Outlook and Front-End Closure
Emergency Order 3-S-WR-02-22: Subsistence Fishing with Set Gillnets in the Kuskokwim River Mainstem, Sections 1-3
Emergency Order 3-KS-V-09-22: Extending the King Salmon Sport Fishing Closure
Emergency Order 3-S-WR-03-22: Opening Gillnet Fishing in Subsistence Sections 4 and 5
Emergency Order 3-S-WR-04-22: Fishing in Subsistence Sections 1, 2, and 3, and Aniak Box
Emergency Order 3-S-WR-05-22: Sections 4, 5 Chum Salmon Harvest in Fish Wheels and Beach Seines
Emergency Order 3-S-WR-06-22: Opening Sections 1-5 (entire Kuskokwim River) to Gillnet Fishing
Emergency Order 3-SS-V-24-2022: Kuskokwim River Coho Salmon Sport Fishing Closed
Emergency Order 3-S-WR-07-22: Kuskokwim River Coho Salmon Subsistence Fishing Closed Sections 1-5
2022 In-season salmon harvest estimates
After set and drift gillnet opportunities, KRITFC helps produce harvest estimates alongside the Orutsararmiut Native Council Fisheries team and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge. These estimates are created using data from the CBHM program, ONC interviews at Bethel area fish camps and the Bethel boat harbor, and USFWS aerial boat counts during each opportunity. They provide in-season harvest and effort information crucial for our In-Season Managers and the Refuge fisheries team to make informed management decisions.
Note: This data estimates harvests between Tuntutuliak and Akiak only.
If you would like to be on the email distribution list for these estimates, please contact Bill Bechtol at bechtolresearch@hughes.net or Kevin Whitworth at kevinwhitworth@kritfc.org.
June 1, 2022: Set net harvest estimate (an estimated 30 king salmon harvested)
June 4, 2022: Set net harvest estimate (an estimated 80 king salmon harvested)
June 8, 2022: Set net harvest estimate (an estimated 120 king salmon and 20 red salmon harvested)
June 12, 2022: Drift/Set net harvest estimate (an estimated 4,700 king salmon, 60 chum salmon, and 360 sockeye salmon harvested)
June 16, 2022: Drift/Set net harvest estimate (an estimated 7,680 king salmon, 160 chum salmon, and 1,920 sockeye salmon harvested)
June 22, 2022: Drift/Set net harvest estimate (an estimated 14,000 king salmon, 950 chum salmon, and 13,720 sockeye salmon harvested)
June 29, 2022: Set net harvest estimate (an estimated 580 king salmon, 270 chum salmon, 2,660 sockeye salmon harvested)
June 30, 2022: Set net harvest estimate (an estimated 970 king salmon, 180 chum salmon, 1,270 sockeye salmon harvested)
July 3, 2022: Set net harvest estimate (an estimated 660 king salmon, 300 chum salmon, 1,160 sockeye salmon harvested)
July 9, 2022: Drift net harvest estimate (an estimated 480 king salmon, 1,730 chum salmon, and 3,730 sockeye salmon harvested)
A summary report of the 2022 in-season harvest and effort estimates during subsistence fishing opportunities was finalized in November 2022 and can be found here.
2022 Kuskokwim River Fishing Announcements
Now that it’s November, ice has formed on the Kuskokwim, and we have some preliminary salmon data to review, we thought we’d share a little bit about the 2022 salmon season.