2024 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.

Based on last year’s run size, the Alaska Department of Fish & Game is forecasting a Chinook salmon return of 98,000–149,000 fish. Our KRITFC-Yukon Delta NWR team will rely on in-season indicators of salmon abundance to guide our management, but we anticipate the need for conservation closures to protect the health of present and future Chinook, chum, and coho salmon stocks. Our goal is always to provide as many opportunities for Federally qualified subsistence fishing as we can, even with closures, as outlined in ANILCA Title VIII, as well as in our joint 2024 Kuskokwim River Salmon Management Strategy.

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! Dogedinh! Chin’an! Tsen’anh! Thank you!

FEDERAL MANAGEMENT ACTIONS

• May 15, 2024 Public Hearing on FSA-YD-24-01

• Temporary Special Action FSA-YD-24-01 (issued May 21, 2024, effective June 1, 2024)

• Announcement #1: Federal Fishing Opportunities on June 3, 6, and 10 (set gillnet only), and June 12 and 16 (drift/set gillnet)

• Announcement #2: Federal Fishing Opportunities Starting June 22

• Announcement #3: Set Net Fishing Opportunities Starting July 1

• Announcement #4: Gillnet Fishing Opportunities from July 12 to July 27

• Announcement #5: Gillnet Fishing Opportunity from July 23 to July 31

• Announcement #6: Gillnet Fishing Opportunities on August 5 and 10

• Announcement #7: Gillnet Fishing Opportunities on August 15 and 16

• FSA-YD-24-02: Rescinding Temporary Special Action FSA-YD-24-01 on August 17

State Management Actions

• Emergency Order 3-KS-V-02-24: Closure to King Salmon Sportfishing

• Kuskokwim Fishery Announcement #1: Emergency Order 3-S-WR-01-24: Kuskokwim River Subsistence Fishery Outlook and Front-End Closure

• Kuskokwim Bay Fishery Announcement #1: 2024 Kuskokwim Bay Commercial Fishery Outlook

• Kuskokwim Bay Fishery Announcement #2: Emergency Order #3-S-WB-01-24: District 4 Subsistence Fishery

• Kuskokwim Fishery Announcement #2: #3-S-WR-02-24: Subsistence Sections 4 & 5 openings on June 12

• Kuskokwim Fishery Announcement #3: #3-S-WR-03-24: Aniak Box

• Kuskokwim Fishery Announcement #4: #3-S-WR-04-24: Commercial catcher/seller openings in August

2024 HARVEST ESTIMATES (Between Tuntutuliak and Tuluksak)

• June 3, 2024: Set net opportunity from 7AM to 11PM

• June 6, 2024: Set net opportunity from 7AM to 11PM

• June 10, 2024: Set net opportunity from 7AM to 11PM

• June 12, 2024: Drift/set net opportunity from 7AM to 7PM

• June 16, 2024: Drift/set net opportunity from 7AM to 7PM

• June 22, 2024: Drift/set net opportunity from 7AM to 7PM

• July 1, 2024: Set net opportunity from 12PM to 12AM

• July 16, 2024: Set net opportunity (July 16 at 12PM to July 17 at 12PM)

• July 20, 2024: Drift/set net opportunity (July 19 at 12PM to July 20 at 12PM)

• August 5, 2024: Drift/set net opportunity from 9AM to 9PM

• August 10, 2024: Drift/set net opportunity from 9AM to 9PM

South Alaska Peninsula (Area M) salmon harvest estimates

As of the end of June 2024, the Area M fishery has harvested more than 417,000 chum salmon. These are total numbers of salmon bycatch and not Kuskokwim-specific salmon. Over time, Western and Interior Alaska chum salmon have made up 18–57% of overall chum salmon landings in the Area M June fishery. Click here for the latest fishery harvest information.

Bering Sea Salmon Bycatch Report

As of August 15, 2024, commercial fisheries in the Bering Sea have caught 8,599 Chinook salmon and 21,510 chum salmon as bycatch. These are total numbers of salmon bycatch and not Kuskokwim-specific salmon. On average, 40-50% of all Chinook salmon and 12-20% of all chum salmon bycatch are of Western and Interior Alaska origin.

2024 FISHING NEWS