There may be fewer King Salmon on the Kuskokwim River this summer than hoped, and some residents want to meet with state biologists now to figure out how best to manage both expectations and the fishery.
"We need to have a preseason plan. And our preference is that preseason plan doesn't start being discussed the very last few days of March, or April, or May. [In] May we are all preparing for fish camp," said Mary Sattler Petola, one of four members of the Kuskokwim River Salmon Management Working Group who sent a letter to the State Fish and Game Department asking for a meeting well before the season begins.
In the letter, Peltola, along with Fritz Charles, Bev Hoffman, and LaMont Albertson, say biologists have the information they need by January to begin a summer management plan and should have been consulting with the working group in February. Peltola says that she and the other signers of the letter are concerned that state biologists' estimates of King returns this summer may be too optimistic.
She points to the parents of this year's Kings, which swam up the Kuskokwim in 2013. They showed up in such low numbers that there were practically no late Kings to speak of that year.
"And we harvested it pretty heavily," said Peltola. "So I think it would be best if the department did have conversations with us about the possibility about it being another tough summer."
Nowhere near enough Kings made it to the spawning grounds, but luckily for the fishermen, there was a nice silver run to help fill nets and pantries that summer. Fish are not a small issue for Yupik people.
"Our word for fish, neqa, is our word for food. Our generic word for food; the same word," Peltola pointed out.
In their letter, the four Working Group members worry that the projections for the King return may be too optimistic. They point to the Department's reliance on models that may not truly reflect what is going on in the salmon populations. They say those models need to be reviewed by independent scientists.
"Getting really solid peer review is important. There is this concern that Fish and Game may be having these conversations among just Fish and Game people or retired Fish and Game folks. Maybe the peer review should happen earlier and with a broader group of people," said Peltola.
The King runs on the Kuskokwim have been struggling for some time.
Peltola, who grew up fishing the river, says that 2010 was the year she first realized that the King run was in major distress.
"When I think about fish camp and King fishing I have the pre-2010 memory, and then the more recent memory after 2010 that has been much much tougher," said Peltola. "Even with me it was very emotional. Thinking about Kings being weak, weak runs, it was like a family member being sick."
In their letter, the four members of the Kuskokwim River Salmon Management Working Group say they want the state to take a conservative approach and limit fishing on Kings to help restore the run to its former strength.
"You think about, you know, you'd put in your 8-inch gear, your gill net, and it's practically a face in every window," said Peltola. "If I could wave my magic wand, it would be having those tremendous runs we were so blessed with for so many years.
Fish and Game is trying to schedule a meeting of the Working Group in Bethel for the end of March.