Federal Manager Says Lower Kuskokwim Set Net Openings Only Open To Local Subsistence Users kyuk.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kyuk.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Credit Katie Basile / KYUK
The Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation is encouraging parents across the region to sign their 12-to-15-year-olds up for a COVID-19 vaccine. YKHC began vaccinating this age group in Bethel on May 13, and will begin sending vaccines to villages the week of May 17.
YKHC President and CEO Dan Winkleman said that his 15-year-old daughter Katherine got her first COVID-19 vaccine at 9 a.m. on May 13, the first day they became available to this age group. During a virtual town hall that evening to answer questions about the vaccine, he called it a “a great, great day.” He also said that his daughter didn’t have any side effects.
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If the vaccine is endorsed, YKHC would begin vaccinating 12-15 year olds in Bethel right after the recommendation from the CDC comes in. Vaccinations in villages would begin the following week. YKHC estimates that about 2,800 teenagers in this age group live in the region. Each teen would need written permission from a parent to be vaccinated.
YKHC Chief of Staff Dr. Ellen Hodges began encouraging parents and guardians to sign up their 12-15 year olds for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in April.
“I think it’s a great way to keep our kids safe, and I know all of us are sort of desperate to get our kids back in school and get back to school sports. This is our way to get there: by vaccinating that age group,” Hodges told KYUK in April.
Another low king salmon run is expected this year. State biologists estimate 94,000 to 150,000 kings will return to the Kuskokwim. That’s similar to last year’s return, which saw low numbers for not only kings, but also chum salmon.
To conserve the kings, federal management will begin June 1 and last until mangers determine that there is no more king conservation concern this season. On June 1, the Kuskokwim River and its salmon-spawning tributaries will close to gillnets and king salmon harvest. During the first half of the month, the mainstem will open for three set-net openings and two driftnet openings.
Federal and tribal managers have set an escapement goal of 110,000 kings reaching their spawning grounds. That’s more than the lower range of the number of kings state biologists forecast will return to the Kuskokwim this year, but forecasts are only educated estimates. Last year, fewer kings returned than initially forecast. The year before, more returned
Credit Katie Basile / KYUK
The Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge has declared federal management of the lower Kuskokwim River king salmon harvest. The refuge, in consultation with the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, has announced gillnet openings for the first half of June for the waters of the lower Kuskokwim that flow through federal land.
Set Net Openings
There will be three set gillnet openings along the Kuskokwim River, from the mouth to the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge boundary at Aniak. Each opening will last 16 hours. During these openings the retention of kings is only legal for rural residents of the Kuskokwim River.