Yukon-Kuskokwim update

Alaska Fish and Game Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang is scheduled to appear at 10 a.m. Tuesday before the House Special Committee on Fisheries for a presentation on "Yukon and Kuskokwim fisheries collapse."

Gov. Parnell requests federal disaster declaration

Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell today sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce requesting a disaster declaration over the poor Chinook salmon runs to the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers.

He suggested Cook Inlet might also qualify for disaster relief.

Here's a press release:

July 14, 2012

Gov. Parnell requests federal declaration of fishery disaster for 2011 and 2012 Chinook salmon fisheries on Yukon, Kuskokwim

JUNEAU — Gov. Sean Parnell today urged Acting U.S. Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank to declare a fishery disaster for the Chinook salmon fisheries on the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers.

He also alerted the acting secretary that the Cook Inlet region is experiencing low Chinook salmon returns and may also qualify for an economic disaster declaration once the season has concluded.

"Ensuring the health and viability of our fisheries is essential for food security, cultural traditions, and quality of life for Alaskans," Parnell said. "Alaskans have depended on fishing for thousands of years. We must identify and address issues affecting this critical source of nutrition and jobs."

The Magnuson-Stevens Act authorizes various forms of federal assistance through the National Marine Fisheries Service when the secretary of commerce determines there is a commercial fishery failure due to a fishery resource disaster.

"It is important to emphasize the critical nature of these fisheries to the region's residents," Parnell wrote to Blank. "Residents in the Yukon and Kuskokwim regions experience some of the highest poverty rates in the country. Earnings from even small commercial fisheries are critical to make it through Alaska's winters. Even more important to these residents' survival is the ability to engage in subsistence harvests. The state of fisheries this year may severely impact their subsistence harvests."

The state of Alaska is submitting fisheries data to back up its request. A federal disaster declaration will not bring automatic assistance to the region. A federal appropriation is necessary to provide funding.

Begich wants Yukon-Kusko disaster declaration

Here's a letter from U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, asking Gov. Sean Parnell to declare a "fisheries disaster" for the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.

Chinook returns to the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers have been especially poor this season.

A disaster declaration for the Chinook run failures of 2008 and 2009 on the Yukon resulted in $5 million in federal aid.

Begich heading west to talk salmon

U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, says he'll travel to Bethel next week to huddle with people facing an emerging Chinook salmon crisis on the Kuskokwim and Yukon rivers.

In this press release, the senator also notes he's written letters to the Obama administration and congressional budget chairmen seeking more federal dollars for salmon research and management.

Bristol Bay — intercept fishery

Veteran observers of Alaska's salmon fisheries have long heard complaints out of Bristol Bay about fishermen at False Pass
"intercepting" sockeye supposedly bound for the bay.

But you know the old adage about rocks and glass houses.

Just check out this new report from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

It's a fascinating study of the genetic stock composition of sockeye harvests in Bristol Bay during the years 2006 through 2008.

The really interesting stuff is on pages 18-22.

Generally, the findings aren't surprising; the vast majority of sockeye salmon harvested in the bay originate from local stocks.

But we find an eye-opener in the numbers for the Togiak District, the westernmost and least productive of the bay's five fishing districts.

Researchers determined a substantial percentage of the Togiak harvest actually originates from the Kuskokwim stock in western Alaska.

In 2006, Kuskokwim sockeye accounted for nearly 28 percent of the Togiak harvest, or 174,206 fish. In 2008, the Kusko component was more than 25 percent, while in 2007 it was 13.5 percent.

Like many Bristol Bay gillnetters, folks in western Alaska have been critical of the False Pass fishery for picking off "their" salmon.

When it comes to sockeye interceptions, looks like some of the pickin' is in Bristol Bay.