Federal Subsistence Board News

Districts Affected: Lower Yukon AreaBased on preseason projections, the 2018 Chinook salmon run on the Yukon River is anticipated to be early and similar run size to last year. The first subsistence-caught Chinook and chum salmon were reported on May 27, however reports from the lower river indicate water levels are very high and wood debris is some of the worst seen in years, which will likely affect fishing efforts.

Districts Affected: Upper Yukon AreaIn March 2018, the Board of Fisheries passed a proposal allowing drift gillnets to be used for subsistence salmon fishing in Subdistricts 4-B and 4-C of the Yukon River. This area includes the communities of Galena and Ruby. The intent of this regulation change is to offset the loss of set net sites due to bank erosion and reduce competition for fishing sites. No changes were made to drift gillnet regulations in Subdistrict 4-A. Drift gillnets are not allowed in District 5 or District 6. 

The North Slope Subsistence Regional Advisory Council (Council) will hold a public meeting on June 8, 2018 via teleconference to follow up on information and updates from its winter 2018 meeting.

The Federal Subsistence Board (Board) met May 16-17, 2018, in Anchorage, to address agenda items that were not completed during their April 2018 meeting and consider multiple fisheries temporary special action requests.  During the May meeting, the Board approved Temporary Special Action Request FSA18-01 with modification and took no action on Temporary Special Action Request FSA18-03 based on the action taken on FSA18-01. 

On May 23, 2018, the Secretaries of the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior published the final rule for the Federal Subsistence Management Regulations for the Tongass National Forest Submerged Lands. 

The Federal Subsistence Board (Board) has approved Temporary Special Action Request FSA18-02, providing for implementation of the Kenai River community gillnet fishery in Federal public waters of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in 2018 for residents of Ninilchik.  The Board believes that these temporary regulatory changes meet the intent of the original agreement between the Federal Subsistence Board and the Ninilchik Traditional Council.  They also note that Board action aligned with recommendations from the Southcentral Alaska Subsistence Regional Advisory Council.  These regulatory changes will provide residents of the community of Ninilchik with the Federal subsistence harvest opportunity that was authorized in 2015. They will also address concerns raised by other communities about the potential impacts of the community gillnet fishery on their subsistence opportunity and provide protections for Chinook Salmon, Rainbow Trout, and Dolly Varden stocks by excluding the community gillnet fishery from the current drainage-wide harvest limits.

The Federal Subsistence Board (Board) met May 16–17, 2018, in Anchorage, to complete several non-regulatory items from their April 2018 regulatory meeting. During the May meeting, the Board approved revisions to Wildlife Delegation of Authority Letters as recommended by the Office of Subsistence Management, which were intended to clarify language and increase consistency.

The Federal Subsistence Board (Board) is accepting written comments, through June 29, 2018, on proposed changes to Federal subsistence fisheries regulations and nonrural determinations. These proposed changes would affect Federal subsistence open seasons, harvest limits, methods for the taking of fish, and customary and traditional use determinations for the 2019-2021 regulatory years. The Board will make threshold decisions on proposals to change nonrural status in January 2019, but will not make a final decision on any nonrural determination proposals until January 2021.

Copper Center, AK. Under delegated authority by the Federal Subsistence Board for the Federal subsistence fisheries of the Upper Copper River District, the Superintendent of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve announced today a delay in the opening date for the Chitina Subdistrict until June 1. By regulation, continuous fishing in both the Chitina and the Glennallen Subdistricts is allowed through September 30. Throughout the season, regulations may be modified by Special Action.

The 2018 drainage-wide Chinook salmon outlook is for a run size of 173,000 to 251,000 fish. The upper end of this range is less than the total run observed in 2017. The 2018 run may be large enough to provide for normal subsistence harvests, however, a cautionary approach will be taken early in the season, and inseason management strategies will be based on run assessment information once fish begin entering the river. If assessment indicates the Chinook salmon run size is near the upper end of the range, and goals are projected to be met, subsistence fishing restrictions would likely be relaxed.  If that occurs, commercial chum fishermen may be given the opportunity to sell Chinook salmon incidentally-caught in the chum fishery, but this would likely be at the tail end of the run, when the majority of Chinook salmon have passed upriver for escapement and subsistence harvest purposes.