A significant management overhaul is essential to confront the declining salmon runs in the Yukon River, as highlighted in a recent report by Indigenous leaders and Alaska scientists. This peer-reviewed policy brief, published in Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, outlines urgent recommendations to revamp salmon management along the river.
The report calls for an independent review of Chinook and chum salmon challenges in the Yukon River by a credible body such as the National Academy of Sciences. Furthermore, it emphasizes enhancing the roles of Indigenous residents who inhabit the river’s basin, which stretches almost 2,000 miles from Canada’s Yukon Territory to the Bering Sea.
Building a strong relationship between tribal members and fisheries managers will likely take a considerable amount of time, according to the authors, who represent a coalition of organizations, including the University of Alaska Fairbanks. They stress the importance of fostering trust through continuous, transparent collaboration that integrates both quantitative fisheries analyses and Indigenous Knowledge.
To help rectify the disparities between commercial and subsistence fishers, the report proposes a “cultural exemption” that would allow small-scale personal harvests for local river residents. Additionally, it champions the creation or expansion of protected marine areas to ensure better at-sea safeguards for fish populations.
The recommendations target several factors contributing to the downturn of Yukon River salmon, which include climate change-related issues such as acidification in the Bering Sea, warming temperatures, and alterations in streamflow within the river and its tributaries. The growing competition for ocean resources, particularly from an increasing volume of hatchery fish, and the accidental netting of salmon during trawl operations are also identified as detrimental influences.
Notably, some of these recommendations stand in contrast to policies established during the Trump administration. That administration notably reduced funding for research on federal fisheries and climate change, and an April 17 executive order by President Donald Trump called for expanded commercial seafood harvesting while revoking marine protection designations.
In light of these challenges, Ed Alexander, one of the report’s Indigenous authors and co-chair of the U.S-Canada Gwich’in Council International, stated that Trump administration policies should not hinder necessary reforms. He emphasized the importance of practical approaches over optimism, pointing out that local Indigenous knowledge could be instrumental in understanding the impacts of the decades-long hydroelectric dam in Whitehorse, which is the only dam along the Yukon River.
The idea of creating protected marine areas is not a novel one, according to Alexander. He referred to the Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area, which was established in 2016 by then-President Barack Obama, dissolved during Trump’s first term, reinstated under President Biden, and then eliminated again during Trump’s second term.
Legislative efforts at both state and federal levels are currently in play to address one key recommendation from the report: the inclusion of tribal representatives on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council and the Alaska Board of Fisheries. Former U.S. Representative Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, introduced a significant provision for tribal representation in the reauthorization of the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Although her bill did not pass prior to her departure from the U.S. House, a similar initiative featuring the tribal seat provision has been reintroduced by Rep. Jared Huffman, D-California.
Additionally, a state bill put forth by Rep. Nellie Jimmie, D-Toksook Bay, aims to reserve two of seven seats on the Alaska Board of Fisheries for subsistence users, with other seats set aside for commercial, sport, and scientific representatives. This bill, House Bill 125, successfully passed the House on May 17 and is now under consideration in the state Senate.
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