In villages along the river, Tribal leaders say the state has cut them out of the process and they want federal oversight.
The Yukon near the Alaska village of Eagle last summer, when the river was unusually empty of boats due to bans on fishing for chinook and chum salmon. Writers Olivia Ebertz and Bathsheba Demuth boated more than 1,000 miles up and down the Yukon River last summer, hearing the stories and perspective of residents and Tribal leaders along the way.
In Canada, where First Nations set many of their own fishing restrictions, some communities have kept their chinook nets out of the water since the turn of the 21st century. But this year, facing another summer of crisis on the Yukon, Canadian federal and American state officials want their Relief can’t come soon enough for families like Freireich, who face deep economic and cultural losses with so few fish. The last several years have been particularly hard, as fishing for another staple subsistence species — summer and fall chum salmon — has also been partly or fully closed due to low runs.
In the Yukon, First Nations retained their own Indigenous subsistence rights in their overarching land claims agreements with the Canadian government. Closures to chinook harvests there must be agreed upon by First Nations and federal managers. The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act grants no comparable set of harvesting rights to Alaska Natives, meaning that fisheries closures imposed by the state do not legally require the same level of Tribal consultation as in Canada.
Along the lower Yukon, in the Deg Xitʼan Athabascan village of Anvik, Chief Robert Walker voices an opinion that’s echoed up and down the Alaska side of the river.Walker is talking about the state of Alaska’s exclusive authority to manage Yukon fisheries on the American side. He fears that low salmon runs, which he blames in part on the state’s decisions, are making it impossible to carry on Deg Xit’an traditions.
While Ulvi and others may wish for co-management with the feds, Vincent-Lang fears the loss of state authority. One reason he’s eager to sign the draft agreement, Vincent-Lang said, is because he heard that First Nations entities were considering petitioning for Endangered Species Act protections for Yukon River chinook. Such protections could limit infrastructure development or natural resource harvests in communities along the river, Vincent-Lang said.
“That’s what our biggest goal is, co-management with the river, with Tribes,” said Ulvi, chair of the inter-Tribal fish commission on the Alaska side. “We feel like that’s the only way that we’re going to get conservation at this point, and using local and traditional knowledge and western science.” Because Canadian First Nations are farther up the river, they’ve already endured decades of salmon shortages, unlike Alaska villages on the lower river. That’s created more openness to human intervention, according to three Canadian Yukon Panel members.
Vincent-Lang has expressed excitement about the idea of hatcheries on the Yukon since as early as August 2021, three months into the crash in chum populations. “I’ll be dreaming of hatchery chinook and tonight!!!” he wrote in an email obtained through a public records request. Westley said he is “embarrassed” that state leaders are considering hatcheries on the Yukon. The draft agreement also includes provisions for habitat restoration, which Westley considers a superior goal.
“I think the biggest revision that the people want to see incorporated into that agreement was more managing marine activity,” said Serena Fitka, the executive director of the Yukon River Drainage Fisheries Association and a member of a Tribe in the village of St. Mary’s. “A lot of our issues are happening in the marine environment with bycatch and intercept fisheries, and we really need to concentrate on that area,” she said.
“We’re killing people. Just so we can have some imitation crab,” Huntington says, referring to one of the products made from pollock. “I don’t care how many billions of dollars anybody’s gonna make. If it causes one person to lose their life, forget it.” in pollock nets averaged some 20,000 fish per year, under the federal limit of 33,318 kings.
The almost 3 billion pounds of pollock harvested each year is, by weight, the largest fishery in North America. Deakin argues that the real threat to Yukon salmon comes from intercept fisheries and the billions of hatchery fish that Russia, Japan and the U.S. release into the sea. Along the river, residents share concerns about the impact of
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Iditarod racers move onto the Yukon just as deep cold is forecast to blast the riverWind chill along the river could get as low as minus 55 in the coming days, with no relief down the trail at the Norton Sound coast.
Read more »
Top Iditarod contenders discuss race strategy along Yukon RiverJessie Holmes, Pete Kaiser, and Matt Failor discuss what they see in their teams in Ruby as they eye top-10 finishes in the 2024 Iditarod.
Read more »
Bud Light St. Patrick's River Parades & Celebration will paint the River Walk green this weekendSt. Patrick's Day festivities return to the San Antonio River Walk with two days of live music and dance performances, Irish-themed floats and river-dyeing rituals.
Read more »
Nashville police discover Riley Strain's bank card near river amid college student's disappearanceAuthorities discovered a new clue in the case of missing University of Missouri college student Riley Strain, Sunday, who vanished while visiting Nashville earlier this month.
Read more »
Nashville police discover Riley Strain's bank card near river amid college student's disappearanceAuthorities discovered a new clue in the case of missing University of Missouri college student Riley Strain, Sunday, who vanished while visiting Nashville earlier this month.
Read more »
Nashville police discover Riley Strain's bank card near river amid college student's disappearanceAuthorities discovered a new clue in the case of missing University of Missouri college student Riley Strain, Sunday, who vanished while visiting Nashville earlier this month.
Read more »