Yukon River Chinook and Chum Salmon Juvenile Abundance and Ecology - 2025

This project will provide ecological information and juvenile abundance estimates for Yukon River Chinook and chum salmon as part of the 2025 Northern Bering Sea (NBS) Ecosystem and Surface Trawl survey. The NBS is a key rearing area for juvenile salmon from the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim (AYK) Region, which has historically supported approximately 83% of the statewide subsistence harvest of Chinook salmon and 97% of the subsistence harvest of chum salmon. Information on juvenile abundance and ecology will provide insight into the critical survival periods of salmon and a framework for forecast models, robust pre-season fisheries management strategies, and effective communication with stakeholders and fisheries managers.

This project will fill in knowledge gaps surrounding the critical survival periods of Yukon River Chinook and chum salmon and will assist with the development of robust pre-season fisheries management strategies through pre-season forecast models of run size. Pre-season fisheries management strategies that are consistent with run size promote sustainable fisheries through improved communication, planning, and management actions, allowing fishery managers and stakeholders to be more adaptive to changing run sizes years in advance. This project also helps support the long-term collection of ecosystem data in the NBS to provide insight into climate change impacts on salmon and the decline of subsistence harvests in the Yukon River.