Anadromous Waters Cataloging and Fish Inventories in Subbasins of the Koyukuk and Kobuk Rivers - 2022

During the summer of 2022, staff from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), Division of Sport Fish, Alaska Freshwater Fish Inventory (AFFI) program, will conduct a rapid, systematic inventory of anadromous fish distribution and associated aquatic and riparian habitat in select drainages of the Kanuti River and upper Kobuk River. AFFI program staff will identify and select target streams most likely to fill gaps in coverage of the State of Alaskas Catalog of Waters Important for the Spawning, Rearing or Migration of Anadromous Fishes (AWC); for each water body in which anadromous fish are observed, nominations to the AWC will be submitted.

Updated and more comprehensive AWC coverage will be the primary benefit of this project toward sustaining salmon habitat. Only anadromous fish habitat listed in the AWC receives protection under the Anadromous Fish Act and various other policies that provide additional protections to specified anadromous fish habitat. Providing more complete and accessible fish community and habitat information will help ADF&G and other federal, state, and local resource agencies better implement their respective fish habitat management, protection, and research missions. Together, better protection and management of salmon habitat will benefit subsistence salmon fisheries and the communities they sustain by safeguarding critical salmon habitat, thereby ensuring the long-term productivity of habitats and salmon populations. Enhanced communication and partnerships with tribal communities will be established through community outreach prior to and after the field work.