Fisheries Experts Request Kuskokwim River Chinook, Chums Get Stock Concern Status

Interesting story about the concerns some have about Kuskokwim River Chinook and chum salmon stocks. Here’s more from KYUK Public Media:

In a Kuskokwim River Salmon Management Working Group meeting on Nov. 11, Jim Simon asked state fishery managers, “How bad does it have to get for the department to consider making a “stock of concern” designation for Kuskokwim river Chinook salmon, and be ready to do the same for chum salmon?” Simon is not a working group member, but an anthropologist who works for the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.

Stock of concern” is a designation the state uses to say that the state is worried about a species of fish.

“That triggers a development of an action plan to amend, or update, or change existing regulations that are designed to get out of that stock of concern,” said John Linderman, the regional supervisor for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Arctic/Yukon/Kuskokwim Region office. “Which by and large means that you’re probably going to have to restrict fishing opportunity.”