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Fall Season Assessment

The fall season test fisheries began operations at Emmonak on July 16 and at Mountain Village on July 17. On July 19, Pilot Station sonar transitioned to reporting all chum as fall chum salmon. No pulses of fall chum salmon have entered the mouth of the Yukon River at this time. The sonar’s first day passage estimate was 2,362 fall chum. Low passage rates are common during this transition time and it is typical to observe a lull between the end of the summer chum run and the beginning of the fall chum run.

The preseason fall chum salmon outlook was highly uncertain and projection models suggested a crash in the 4-year old age component as it returns from the record high fall chum salmon escapement in 2005. Past seasons have demonstrated that there is a good relationship between the summer and fall chum runs within the same year. With the summer chum salmon run nearly completely through the lower river, this performance relationship is now used to update the fall chum salmon projection which estimates that the 2009 fall chum salmon total run size is expected to be near 650,000.

The preceding 2009 summer chum salmon total run was below average. However, since the 4-year old age component was slightly above average, there is optimism that the 4-year old age component of the fall chum salmon run may not experience the failure that the early models suggest. This supports an increased confidence that the fall chum run will be larger than 600,000. The summer chum salmon stocks will continue to be monitored as they arrive on their spawning grounds for additional run information. Although a few early coho salmon have been observed, the run is not anticipated to start building until around August 8.

Lower Yukon Cooperative Drift Test Fishery - 6.0” mesh/ ADF&G, YDFDA
The project began operations on July 16. The cumulative fall chum CPUE is 13.43 through July 19.

Mountain Village Drift Test Fishery- 5-7/8” mesh/ Asacarasarmiut Traditional Council, BSFA
The project began operations on July 17. The cumulative fall chum CPUE is 48.17 through July 19.

Pilot Station Sonar / ADF&G, YDFDA
Pilot Station sonar began to estimate all chum salmon as fall chum salmon effective July 19. The cumulative sonar passage estimate for fall chum salmon through July 19 is approximately 2,362 fish. No coho salmon have been estimated passing the sonar through July 19.

Commercial Harvest

Preliminary harvest information for District Y-1:
Period #1: District Y-1 including the Coastal Set Net Only Area, 9 hours; July 17, 9:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. July 18.
=> 4,011 fall chum/27,469 lbs. ($0.70/lb.), 39 coho/227 lbs. ($1.00/lb.), 57 Chinook/827 lbs. ($5.00/lb.)

Period#2: District Y-1 including the Set Net Only Area, 10 hours; July 22, 1:00 p.m. until 11:00 p.m. July 22.
=> No harvest information at this time.

Preliminary harvest information for District Y-2:
Period #1: 8 hours; July 20, 2:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. July 20.
=> No harvest information at this time.

The preliminary fall season harvest total for Districts Y-1 and Y-2 through July 19 is approximately 4,011 fall chum, 39 coho, and 57 Chinook salmon.

Management Strategies

Based on the fall chum salmon preseason projection and the current appraisal of the summer chum salmon run performance, the fall season will be managed initially as though the fall chum salmon run size will be near 650,000 fish. Management will shift to inseason assessment near the mid-point of the run around August 8 at the Pilot Station sonar project. A run of this size should be sufficient to provide for escapement and subsistence uses with an expected small surplus for commercial harvest.

During the fall season, subsistence fishing remains open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day in Districts Y-1, Y-2, and Y-3 except for closures 12 hours before, during, and 12 hours after each commercial fishing period. Subsistence fishing further upriver will continue on the current schedule until fall chum salmon reach those sections of river. At that time, subsistence will be return to the pre-2001 fishing schedule for each of the districts.

Fall chum salmon pulses are difficult to predict and early projections suggest there will only be a small surplus available for commercial harvest. The management strategy will be to spread harvest throughout the run commercially harvesting roughly 50,000 fall chum salmon from the front half of the run. Additional harvest will be delayed until the second half of the run when more assessment information becomes available and coho salmon become a more significant portion of the harvest. In the lower river districts, fishermen can expect one period each week in Districts Y-1 and Y-2 with a portion of the harvest saved for upriver allocations. As experienced in previous years during this transition time period, catches can be exceptionally low.

Current Management

Commercial periods: Y-1 will open for one 10-hour period Wednesday, July 22 from 1:00 p.m. until 11:00 p.m.

The current subsistence fishing schedules in the lower river are as follows:

Coastal District: 7 days per week, 24 hours per day, with unrestricted mesh size gillnets.

Districts Y-1 and Y-2: 7 days per week, 24 hours per day, except 12 hours before, during, and 12 hours after commercial fishing periods with unrestricted mesh size gillnets. For District Y-1 subsistence salmon fishing will close at 1:00 a.m. Wednesday, July 22, and reopen 11:00 a.m. Thursday, July 23.

District Y-3: 7 days per week, 24 hours per day, with unrestricted mesh size gillnets.

For subsistence fishing schedules in Districts Y-4, Y-5, and Y-6, consult the Yukon Area Summer Season update.

During the subsistence salmon fishing closures, all gillnets with a mesh size greater than four inches and a length greater than 60 feet must be removed from the water.

Fishermen are encouraged to consult the State of Alaska commercial and subsistence fishing regulations and the federal subsistence fishing regulations before fishing in the Yukon Area.


If you have any questions, please contact the Emmonak ADF&G office at 949-1320. For a 24-hour schedule recording, please call toll-free 1-866-479-7387. Additionally, announcements are available at the following web address: http://www.cf.adfg.state.ak.us/region3/yukhome.php