For the seventh year in a row, federal managers have closed the Stikine River chinook subsistence fishery to help preserve weak runs of the returning salmon.
The U.S. Forest Service, under authority delegated by the Federal Subsistence Board, last week announced the closure to run May 15 through June 20.
“The preseason forecast for the Stikine River is 11,700 large chinook salmon (greater than 28 inches in length), which is below the escapement goal range of 14,000 to 28,000 large chinook,” the Forest Service statement said.
Though this year’s chinook run is ahead of the preseason forecast for last year, it is still short of what managers believe is necessary for a healthy spawning return in the Stikine.
“Chinook salmon runs are expected to increase in 2023 with only one (Stikine River) of the five chinook salmon stocks for which the department develops formal forecasts having a projected run less than what is needed to achieve the minimum escapement goal,” the Alaska Department of Fish and Game reported last month.
The Stikine chinook run is among several in Southeast that have missed their escapement goals in most of the previous 10 years, according to Fish and Game.
The federal closure only affects subsistence fishing for chinook in the river, not the sockeye subsistence fishery set to open June 21, according to the Forest Service announcement.
The Department of Fish and Game has also taken actions in the state-managed fisheries in front of the river to protect Stikine chinook.
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