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Fishermen Are Pulling Up Empty Nets From Kuskokwim's Low Water

Anna Rose MacArthur
/
KYUK Public Media

Water on the Kuskokwim is low, and nets are coming up mostly empty. Subsistence fishermen along the entire river are reporting this situation. Other fishermen, facing tight restrictions and cultural tension, have decided to refuse to fish.

John Alegyuk Andrew is a subsistence fisherman in Kwethluk.

“I’m a lifetime fishermen. I’m 72 years old,” said Andrew.

He represents the Lower Kuskokwim in Subsistence Fishing on the Kuskokwim River Salmon Management Working Group. The group advises the Alaska Department of Fish and Game on management decisions.

It held its first meeting of the season on Wednesday. The meeting opened on a solemn note, with a moment of silence for Greg Roczicka, a founding member, who has left a big hole. Roczicka died last week at his home in Bethel at the age of 61. John Andrew worked with him for decades on fish and game issues.

“He accomplished a lot in this region. And we just…we’re missing him right now,” said Andrew.

The lower and middle Kuskokwim had its first gill net fishing opening this past weekend: four-inch mesh, set gill nets; a 12 hour opener from nine in the morning to nine at night. But, when fishermen pulled up their nets, some came up empty. Many had about three fish. Others had none.

About a dozen subsistence fishermen, representing every section of the Kuskokwim river, called in or showed up at the meeting to report these findings. And they all said the same thing as John Andrew:

“The water is very, very low. The lowest I’ve ever seen in my lifetime.”

Andrew says the water is about eight feet lower than it usually is this time of year, and that makes fish hard to catch.

“When the water is really low, the water is clear. The fish can see the net and avoid it. They can swim under it or on the sides,” he said.

It’s also more difficult to find an eddy to set the net in. And with less water, fishermen are noticing that the water is warmer. The higher water temperature is another problem; the fish die faster in the net.

There was another issue. The fishing opening was on a blue sky, clear day. Not good fishing weather.

“We do our best fishing when it’s a little windy or stormy,” explained Andrew.

Even if fishing conditions were good, there still might have been fewer fish caught than normal. Andrew says some Yup’ik fishermen refused to fish during the opening. The four-inch gear that was allowed is meant to target whitefish and other non-salmon species. Managers are asking fishermen to return king salmon alive to the water so that they can reach their spawning grounds during this conservation period.

“And that’s more of a cultural slap in the face for my people," said Andrew. “We the people have a tradition. If we catch something, we bring it home. We bring it home and prepare it to be our food, not the other people's tradition of catch and release. When we do that, we are playing with our food.”

Many fishermen said that they are waiting until the six-inch mesh openings begin in mid-June to start fishing. They’ll be more likely to catch salmon, and they won’t be encouraged to release their kings.

Anna Rose MacArthur served as KYUK's News Director from 2015-2022.