Kwethluk River Weir

In partnership with the Organized Village of Kwethluk (OVK) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) at Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission installs and operates a weir on the Kwethluk River, located about 35 miles upstream of the community Kwethluk. The Kwethluk River weir monitors king salmon on the second most productive tributary of the Kuskokwim River watershed. This long-term salmon assessment project provides critical information to the drainage-wide annual spawner abundance and provides an important opportunity for capacity building within the community of Kwethluk. With data from the Kwethluk River smolt outmigration project, we have an idea about the productivity – spawners to smolt and back – of this tributary.

Since 2022, the Kwethluk River weir crew has also conducted eDNA sampling and research as part of a pilot study about using eDNA to estimate fish presence and abundance.

Watch this video of salmon passing the Kwethluk River weir, courtesy of USFWS.