Migrating summer chum and Chinook salmon are seen on July 7, 2007, in the Tozitna River, a Yukon River tributary. While salmon returns in the Yukon River continued to be weak this year, there were some signs of improvement, including a better-than-expected return of Chinook to Canada. (Photo by Jason Post/U.S. Bureau of Land Management)
Salmon numbers in the Yukon River and its tributaries remained low this year, continuing a yearslong trend of struggles and harvest closures, but there were some positive signs, according to late-season information from Alaska and Canadian fisheries managers.
The fall run of chum salmon, which usually comes into the river system from mid-July to October, is the third lowest in a record that goes back to the 1970s, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game said in a Yukon River update issued on Wednesday. It is expected to be less than a quarter of the historic average of about 900,000 fish, the update said.
Amid salmon crash, Alaska’s Yukon River residents say a new pact with Canada leaves them behind The Yukon River coho salmon run, which is typically smaller and of shorter duration, was also poor this year, the third lowest in a record that goes back to the 1990s, the department’s update said.