KYUK: Kuskokwim Fishermen Request Additional Fishing Hours For Kasigluk Following Recent Deaths
Any additional fishing hours for Kasigluk would occur after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service meets with the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission on July 3, 2018. CREDIT KATIE BASILE / KYUK
Friday's gillnet opening in the lower Kuskokwim River may not be the last one. The Kuskokwim River Salmon Management Working Group is recommending that the community of Kasigluk receive additional fishing hours this season after recent deaths limited the community’s ability to subsistence fish.
The Working Group made its recommendation to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Wednesday. The agency manages the federal waters of the lower Kuskokwim river in the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge where Kasigluk is located.
Refuge Manager Ken Stahlnecker says that he will consider the recommendation on Tuesday, July 3 when he meets with the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. Stahlnecker could provide the additional fishing hours through a federal emergency order.
The 6-hour gillnet opening on Friday, June 29 in federal waters is designed to help those who could not fish during earlier openings in the refuge due to unfortunate circumstances like tragedy, boat issues, and health problems.