Excerpted From Alaska Department of Fish and Game Technical Paper No. 146, December 1986

Chinook salmon is one of four major types of salmon caught along the Kuskokwim River for subsistence uses; others are chum, sockeye, and coho. For most villages in the Kuskokwim River drainage, chinook represents a major salmon species used for subsistence purposes. It is the major eating fish. . . .

THE SUBSISTENCE FISHERIES

Communities Using Chinook

Families from some 30 communities in the Kuskokwim drainage fish for chinook salmon for subsistence uses. Collectively, these 30 communities have a population of about ten thousand people based on 1984 estimates (Alaska Department of Labor 1985). In 1985, there were approximately six hundred salmon fishing families in the Kuskokwim drainage. The number of fishing families was estimated as high as 849 in 1979. The count of fishing families is somewhat variable from year to year because many households flexibly pool labor in cooperative work groups and may choose to report as separate or combined units. . . .

Harvest Seasons

Along the lower Kuskokwim in District 1, chinook salmon fishing generally begins by June 1 and is concluded by mid-July. In upper river districts, fishing necessarily begins later when salmon arrive. Near McGrath, 507 miles from the mouth of the river, chinook salmon fishing generally begins about the first of July continuing throughout the month.

Fishing activities are based either from a fish camp or the home village. However, the degree to which one or the other is more prevalent varies from community to community and from year to year for some individual families. Not all fishing camps are located along the main stem of the Kuskokwim, but on tributary streams such as the Kwethluk, Tuluksak, Aniak, Holitna, Stony and Salmon Rivers. . . .

Methods and Means

Drift gill nets, fish wheels, and rods and reels are used for taking chinook in the Kuskokwim drainage for subsistence. In the lower Kuskokwim in District 1, drift fishing for chinook predominates; however, some families use set nets. In District 2, between Tuluksak and Chuathbaluk, drift and set gill nets and fish wheels are used owing to the feasibility of using each type of gear under particular river conditions. In the extreme upper portions of the area, fish wheels, set gill nets, and rods and reels are used. In one area of the upper Kuskokwim, fish weirs and traps were used as recently as 1967 for harvesting chinook for subsistence use (Stokes 1985). . . .

Fish Camps and Fish Areas

During summer 1986, nearly 50 percent of Kwethluk households moved to 52 fish camps. Seventy-six households (68 percent) contributed labor, either as fishermen or processors, to a Kwethluk fish camp. Eighty-two percent of the Kwethluk fish camps were operating by June 15th. By mid-July, most chinook salmon fishing was completed, and families began to prepare for other subsistence activities.

Most fish camps used by Kwethluk residents are located within eight river miles of the village. Generally, the camps consist of permanent structures including summer cabins, fish and net drying racks, and steam baths. Sixty percent of the fish camps have been used consistently by the same households for more than 10 years. At least two Kwethluk households have used their camps for more than fifty years. People sometimes must relocate their camps due to changing river channels and eroding riverbanks.

Areas used for subsistence fishing, like fish camps, generally are located within eight miles of the village. Set net sites are located along the Kuskokwim and Kwethluk Rivers, as well as Kuskokuak Slough. Subsistence fishing with drift nets occurred only in the Kuskokwim River and in Kuskokuak Slough. Except for Kuskokuak Slough, where commercial fishing is not permitted, subsistence and commercial fishing by Kwethluk fishermen using drift nets occurs in the same area of the Kuskokwim. Commercial fishermen from Kwethluk, however, also fish in areas upriver and down river of their subsistence fishing areas. . . .