Fairbanks Fish & Wildlife Field Office
Yukon Subsistence Fisheries

“The Yukon is much more than an exotic and remote setting for novels and poetry.  It is home to …communities, whose lives are tied to that of the river itself and to its resources.”  Paula Dobriansky, Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs.
Importance of the subsistence fishery Historical photograph of an Alaskan native woman cutting fish in a traditional camp. Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Archives of the Arctic and Polar Regions Department of Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Fairbanks. Salmon returning to the Yukon River have been a vital food source for Native people in northern Alaska for thousands of years. Today, the river continues to support a subsistence fishery that provides cultural, spiritual and economic sustenance to more than 1,500 households in over 60 communities.	A modern day woman cuts fish much as her ancestors have for thousands of years. Photo Credit: USFWS
Managing Fisheries For Subsistence Use Understanding the critical importance of Alaska’s fisheries to subsistence users, the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) of 1980, contains language requiring that natural and healthy fish populations be maintained for the subsistence use of rural residents.	Filleted salmon dry on an outdoor rack before being moved into the smoke house. Photo Credit: USFWS
Under ANILCA, the federal government began managing subsistence hunting and trapping on federal lands in 1990. The Federal Subsistence Management Program expanded to include fisheries on Federal Conservation System Units in October, 1999. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was designated the lead federal agency for management of subsistence fisheries on the Yukon River, along with participation by the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the National Forest Service.	Map of the Yukon River drainage fisheries subsistence ares. Graphic Credit: USFWS Click to Enlarge
Yukon River Subsistence Fisheries In-Season Management Federal and state fishery managers work closely together to manage fish harvest all along the Yukon River. Their efforts maintain the delicate balance of providing for subsistence needs while ensuring that enough salmon escape and spawn to continue healthy returns over time.
Information on salmon returns collected from fishery monitoring projects help federal and state fisheries managers monitor salmon escapement, and determine subsistence and commercial fishing periods throughout the season.	Fish weirs installed across rivers allow biologist to count salmon migrating upstream to spawn. Photo Credit: USFWS
Sonar technology has been used to monitor the number of fall chum salmon spawning in the Chandalar River since1995. The project transitioned from split-beam sonar technology to dual frequency identification sonar (DIDSON) in 2007 to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the study. Results from this project indicate that the Chandalar River is the largest fall chum salmon stock in the Yukon River drainage.	Chandalar River Sonar Project. Photo Credit: USFWS
Service biologists, Refuge Information Technicians, and contract employees work with rural residents to monitor the in-season harvest of salmon and determine if subsistence needs are being met in Yukon River communities.	Refuge Information Technicians visit fish camps to collect harvest data from fishermen. Photo Credit: USFWS

U.S./Canada Panel
Forty to sixty percent of the salmon we catch in the U.S. portion of the Yukon River originates in Canada. This office is directly involved with both the Yukon Panel, comprised of delegates from the U.S. and Canada, and the Yukon River Joint Technical Committee which is comprised of U.S. and Canadian fishery biologists and managers. The U.S. Federal delegate to the Yukon Panel is from this office. We cooperate with Canada, the State of Alaska, and village representatives on a number of projects to monitor these fisheries and maintain fish populations in a productive, self-sustaining condition.  Office staff also administer the Research and Management fund for the Yukon Treaty and participate on the Yukon Panel Restoration and Enhancement fund review committee.

For more information about this program, please contact Russ Holder, Fisheries/Subsistence Branch Chief, at either Russ_Holder@fws.gov or by phone at 907-455-1849.

Last updated: August 1, 2008