2022 Kuskokwim River Drainage Weirs

Photo of the Takotna River weir by Robert Perkins.

Weirs are a non-lethal way to count and identify adult salmon as they swim upriver. They do not kill salmon or prevent them from passing through to their spawning grounds.

Most Kuskokwim weirs count Chinook, chum, and coho salmon passage, and a few count sockeye salmon passage. As of early July 2022, most Kuskokwim weirs have been installed and are fish tight, or close to it. You can track 2022 salmon counts at the Kuskokwim weirs, as well as view historical counts, here.

Photos of the Kogrugluk River weir (ADF&G) and Takotna River weir (Robert Perkins and Kevin Whitworth).

The weirs operating in 2022 (and their latest available fish counts) are on these tributaries:

• Kwethluk River

• Salmon River (Aniak)

• George River – as of 06/29, 139 Chinook salmon and 10 chum salmon counted

• Kogrukluk River – as of 06/29, 3 Chinook salmon and 2 sockeye salmon counted

• Takotna River

• Telaquana River

• Salmon River (Pitka Fork) – as of 06/29, 1 Chinook salmon counted

Thank you to Alaska Department of Fish & Game for compiling this information.  

KRITFC operates the Kwethluk River weir alongside the Organized Village of Kwethluk and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as the Takotna River weir in collaboration with the Takotna Tribal Council and Alaska Department of Fish & Game. As of July 2, 2022, the Kwethluk weir is installed and operating for the first time since 2019, and the Takotna weir is mid-installation. We look forward to working with our Tribal members and project partners to monitor our salmon populations this summer.