The Kuskokwim Bay commercial salmon fishery in Alaska reopened in July, but shuttered again just weeks into the season due to declining catch rates and high costs.
Media outlet KYUK reported that the commercial salmon fishery on the Kuskokwim River was reopened in early July by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) and that 70 permit holders participated, compared to previous years that had upward of 700 permit holders.
Though many welcomed the reopening, participants said declining catch rates and other logistical challenges made the season difficult from the onset, with transportation and equipment costs leaving most fishermen in the red.
The region has long been the site of a battle between state and federal regulators over who controls salmon resources.
In May 2022, the U.S. government, under former President Joe Biden, filed an injunction against the state of Alaska to prevent residents from partaking in subsistence fishing. Despite Alaska filing its own injunction in September 2023 in the U.S. District Court of Alaska, in April 2024, a federal judge sided with the Biden administration.
In September 2025, Alaskan officials pushed the case to the U.S. Supreme Court to ask for clarity on the term "public lands" through the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANCILA). But, the Supreme Court denied a petition in January 2026 that would have limited federal authority over regulating subsistence fishing on the federal lands.
This year’s short-lived season marked a continuation of this battle as the federal government regained management of the Kuskokwim River in August and mandated an emergency closure for the harvest of all coho salmon.
According to a KYUK report, Spencer Rearden, the manager of the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, which is federally run, said that the coho run numbers from this year were similar to 2022, which was lower than the past two decades before it.
"The Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge (YDNWR) Manager has determined that Federal management is necessary for conservation and for the continuation of subsistence uses for coho salmon within the Federal public waters of the Kuskokwim River drainage due to low abundance," an ADF&G release said. "The Federal in-season manager will consider announcing gillnet fishing opportunities for federally qualified subsistence users after evaluating conservation needs and consultation with partners."
KYUK reported that federally qualified subsistence fishers can still use dip nets, beach seines, fish wheels, and rod and reel throughout the closure, but coho salmon may not be kept.
The closure comes shortly after Alaskan Indigenous corporations won a USD 1.8 million (EUR 1.5 million) settlement in court for attorney fees stemming from the ongoing Kuskokwim River management dispute.
The Kuskokwim River on the western slope of the Alaska Range drains into the Bering Sea into the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. It's the second largest river in Alaska and the ninth largest in the U.S. at 724 miles long.
