July 26, 2021 — In late June, summer chum salmon numbers in the Yukon River were the lowest on record. The Chinook run is also extremely low, resulting in ongoing closures of salmon fishing on much of the Yukon River.
The loss is causing anxiety for more than 30 riverside communities that depend on chinook and chum as a main source of protein for the winter.
Ben Stevens is the Tanana Chiefs Conference tribal resources manager. Stevens is from Stevens Village on the upper Yukon and said he has never before seen such a total shut down.
Below is a transcript of an interview with Lori Townsend on Alaska News Nightly with minor edits for clarity
Ben Stevens: We’ve seen chinook crashes before in recent history. We were still okay with the idea because we had something else to fall back on. And that was the fall chum.
This year, it’s unprecedented because we don’t have the chinook or the fall chum and that has disturbed our folks to a level I haven’t seen before.
Lori Townsend: Are there other river or tributary opportunities close enough that could help people get fish in other places? Or is it just not possible?