In-season harvest and effort estimates for the 2019 Kuskokwim River subsistence salmon fisheries during block openers

ABSTRACT: Management of the Kuskokwim River Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) subsistence fishery has historically been conducted with minimal in-season harvest information. Because of this lack of information, it is challenging to make well-supported and defensible decisions regarding fishing opportunities to simultaneously achieve conservation and subsistence harvest objectives, particularly during years of weak runs. In response to an anticipated weak 2019 Kuskokwim River Chinook Salmon run, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in collaboration with the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission and the Orutsararmiut Native Council, collected data to produce in-season subsistence salmon harvest estimates from that portion of the main stem Kuskokwim River within the boundaries of the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge between and including the villages of Tuntutuliak and Akiak. Using methods developed and refined during 2016 – 2018, I estimated the total subsistence salmon harvest in this area was 60,710 (95% CL: 50,070 – 72,840) during six fishing opportunities between June 11 and June 22, 2019. Most salmon harvested were Chinook Salmon (40,120; 95% CL: 32,410 – 48,930), followed by Sockeye Salmon (O. nerka; 13,400; 10,640 – 16,760), and Chum Salmon (O. keta; 7,170; 4,960 – 10,100). Methodologies refined during this study should be useful to structure future efforts to estimate subsistence salmon harvest on the Kuskokwim River as well as other fisheries with similar characteristics.