The fishermen of Lower Yukon complain why they are we not harvesting king salmon for subsistence? It is said that they are casualties of an unjust system that protects big enterprise and a state government that is unsympathetic to the rural people of Alaska, primarily the Native community. There are many contributing factors to the diminishing runs of king salmon.
Most of the people believe that predation in the Bering Sea is to blame. Others point out natural mortality rates. However, the high seas pollock fisheries are a major factor. According to an AKMuckraker Blog article, Something’s Fishy on the Yukon, “The sad truth that the State of Alaska doesn’t want to deal with is the fact that there are more fish. Lots more fish. And these salmon stocks are swimming toward the Yukon River and they will be caught in the nets of factory trawlers fishing for pollock off the coast, they will be hauled out of the ocean, and they will die.
In order to protect the fish the last two seasons, state and federal managers have placed the burden on the lower Yukon River’s commercial and subsistence salmon fishermen. It is observed that this year the fishermen are on the lower river face more economic hardship and severe restrictions on our traditional and customary subsistence harvest of king salmon.
It is said that the role of king salmon conservation should be technically and legally reversed so the burden is distributed equally. However, the state Board of Fisheries, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) and the Palin administration have favored big business over subsistence. Governor Palin’s agenda does not favor rural subsistence rights, nor does she put into consideration how vital it is to our very existence.
