2021 Kuskokwim River Subsistence Harvest and Effort Estimates

In 2021, KRITFC and Orutsararmiut Native Council Fisheries, in collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and independent contractors, collected and processed data to produce in-season subsistence salmon harvest and effort estimates from a lower river portion of the mainstem Kuskokwim River. These in-season estimates are critical for the KRITFC and USFWS in-season management teams to make informed decisions about subsistence salmon harvest opportunities since they provide information about salmon run timing and abundance from harvest opportunities almost immediately after the harvests occur.

Map of the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge waters (lower Kuskokwim River) that compose the harvest survey area with geographic strata noted (A – D). Solid circles indicate strata boundaries; hollow circles indicate other points of interest.

This report provides harvest and effort estimates for 11 of 12 subsistence salmon harvest opportunities:

  • 6/2/21 6:00 am – 10:00 pm; 16 hours; FSA 3-KS-01-21; Set Gillnet Only

  • 6/5/21 6:00 am – 10:00 pm; 16 hours; FSA 3-KS-01-21; Set Gillnet Only

  • 6/9/21 6:00 am – 10:00 pm; 16 hours; FSA 3-KS-01-21; Set Gillnet Only

  • 6/12/21 06:00 am – 06:00 pm; 12 hours; FSA 3-KS-01-21; Drift or Set Gillnet

  • 6/15/21 06:00 am – 06:00 pm; 12 hours; FSA 3-KS-01-21; Drift or Set Gillnet

  • 6/19/21 06:00 am – 06:00 pm; 12 hours; FSA 3-KS-02-21; Drift or Set Gillnet

  • 6/28/21 10:00 am – 10:00 pm; 12 hours; ADF&G EO 3-S-WR-07-21; Drift or Set Gillnet

  • 7/2/21 06:00 am – 03:00 pm; 9 hours; FSA 3-KS-03-21; Drift or Set Gillnet

  • The 7/9/21 drift or set gillnet opportunity was not included because there was no harvest estimate produced, due to poor weather preventing an aerial survey.

  • 7/10/21, 12:01 am – 7/11/21, 11:59 pm; 24 hours, FSA 3-KS-03-21; Set Gillnet Only

  • 7/16/21 06:00 am – 06:00 pm; 12 hours; FSA 3-KS-03-21; Drift or Set Gillnet

  • 7/17/21, 12:01 am – 7/18/21, 11:59 pm; 24 hours, FSA 3-KS-03-21; Set Gillnet Only

Estimates for each individual opportunity can also be found on our 2021 Fishing Info page.

An estimated total of 49,440 (46,820 – 52,070) salmon were harvested in the lower river during the 2021 salmon season. Of these:

  • 23,600, or 48% (22,020 – 25,340), were sockeye salmon.

  • 21,630, or 44% (20,300 – 23,940), were Chinook salmon.

  • 4,220, or 8% (3,640 – 4,870), were chum salmon.

Total salmon harvest was not the smallest since the in-season harvest monitoring program began in 2016, but the Chinook and chum salmon harvests decreased by about 7% and 25%, respectively, from 2020, which was the smallest amount of total salmon harvested in the study area since the in-season harvest monitoring program’s inception. The 2021 sockeye salmon harvest increased by 72% from 2020, likely due to the closure of gillnet salmon fishing later in the summer on the Kuskokwim in 2021 compared to previous years and additional gillnet fishing openers later into the summer, which allowed for more harvest monitoring later into the summer than in previous years.

These in-season harvest estimates had previously been produced by USFWS; this is the first year that Tribal organizations led this invaluable in-season assessment project. The information used in these estimates was collected by KRITFC harvest monitors through the CBHM program, ONC Fisheries technicians at the Bethel boat harbor and Bethel area fish camps, and USFWS aerial surveys.