Situk River (AK) Red Salmon Collapse; Return Barely 10% Of Projections; Subsistence Season 36 Hours

[hatrack]

Unlike other salmon fisheries around the Southeast, biologists never saw this coming.The forecast for the sockeye return on the Situk river was good this year. Managers expected to see around 21,000 fish through the weir by this time, and between 30-70,000 by the end of the season.

As of Monday, July 2, only 2,300 fish — had made it back to the river. Fish & Game biologist Nicole Zeiser says the low return is “shocking.” “This is by far the worst on record that we’ve ever seen as far as Situk River weir count,” Zeiser said.

Zeiser shut down the commercial set net fishery by emergency order last week (6-28-18), and Yakutat will feel the effects. According to a report in the Juneau Empire, Yakutat fishermen earn about $1.5 million from sockeye — a huge boon to the town’s economy.

Subsistence fishing for sockeye on the Situk — one of the few unlimited subsistence fisheries in the state — has been curtailed to just 36 hours a week, from Friday morning to Saturday evening.

EDIT

https://www.alaskapublic.org/2018/07/03/yakutat-sockeye-fishery-blindsided-by-historic-low-return/

[Canoe52]

1. Not good...and very scary