Yukon River Drainage Fisheries Association

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Yukon River Drainage Fisheries Association YRDFA works to protect& promote all wild salmon fisheries & traditional fishing cultures in the Yukon

Joint Groundfish Plan Team - 9/8/2026 - 9/11/2026NPFMC climate workplan involves an update to the Groundfish Plan Teams ...
09/08/2026

Joint Groundfish Plan Team - 9/8/2026 - 9/11/2026
NPFMC climate workplan involves an update to the Groundfish Plan Teams today and as part of that we will be providing a sneak peak at early (draft) Alaska Climate Integrated Modeling (ACLIM) Harvest Control Rules (HCR) evaluation results and performance metrics.

For more info about this meeting:
https://meetings.npfmc.org/Meeting/Details/5140

Joint/BSAI Groundfish Meeting Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/nshlqHjCQEaGiJAQJq4JuQ

Or join by phone: Dial +1 669 444 9171 or +1 669 900 6833, Meeting ID: 820 7432 4391

GOA Groundfish Meeting Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/FqceXJ39SUax7KbBXMGCTg

Or join by phone: Dial +1 669 444 9171 or +1 669 900 6833, Meeting ID: 879 0563 5520

“My first memory of salmon was of my grandma, Belle Deacon, cutting fish. It was the way we grew up—her cutting fish, ev...
09/07/2026

“My first memory of salmon was of my grandma, Belle Deacon, cutting fish. It was the way we grew up—her cutting fish, even at a very old age. She taught us a lot.
Learning how to drift with my uncle, how to pick the nets and stuff like that probably stands out the most because he was pretty stern and had a way of letting us know when we weren't doing something right

Salmon's an integral part of our lifestyle. The last few years, we've been hit pretty hard with no salmon fishing. With high prices and inflation and gas and everything, it's hard for a lot of the folks in our village to make ends meet.
Back in the nineties, it wasn't uncommon to ride up and down the river and see fish wheels in camps. A lot of these camps have grown over. They've not been inhabited for at least two decades and it's sad to see that—it’s a loss of culture and identity.”

—Rich Freireich, Jr., of Grayling, Alaska

Learn more about threats to Alaska's Salmon: www.salmonstate.org/bycatch

Photos by Jacqueline Cleveland

“It's really hard to see my elders not having any fish. A lot of our elders are dependent on the younger generations.In ...
09/07/2026

“It's really hard to see my elders not having any fish. A lot of our elders are dependent on the younger generations.

In wintertime, we find ourselves without salmon strips or salmon in the freezer. It's pretty much a one-dimensional diet—like moose meat—because you can't afford what's in the stores. Besides just being deprived of eating your traditional foods. That's really hard.”

—Rich Freireich, Jr., of Grayling, Alaska

Learn more about threats to Alaska’s salmon: www.salmonstate.org/bycatch

Photos by Jacqueline Cleveland

“I think us as a Native people are the best stewards of our land. We were living pretty much a subsistence lifestyle and...
09/07/2026

“I think us as a Native people are the best stewards of our land. We were living pretty much a subsistence lifestyle and it was admittedly pretty good. We were allowed to fish and everything. But as of late, it's been pretty much non-existent. I think that the State has failed to meet its obligations to our subsistence way of life.

We know when the salmon are out there, yet it feels like we're being micromanaged. You get an area biologist that’s freshly out of school and knows nothing of the culture or people and it takes a year and a half just to meet them. And when they move on, you’re starting over again. We have tributaries and important spawning grounds that haven't been staffed for years. We can staff these with our own people working in conjunction with the State.

I'd like to get to where we can have our own Native biologists trained so that, when the state comes with its data, we can say that we were there, that we have the data right here in front of us.”

—Rich Freireich, Jr., of Grayling, Alaska

Learn more about threats to Alaska's Salmon: www.salmonstate.org/bycatch

Photos by Jacqueline Cleveland

“Trawling is a multimillion dollar industry, maybe more than that, out there on the oceans. So they are allowed to run r...
09/07/2026

“Trawling is a multimillion dollar industry, maybe more than that, out there on the oceans. So they are allowed to run roughshod and basically police their own selves. Yet they're up here in these small villages and these, a lot of these villages maybe have 200 to 300.

So the take is so small. Yet we're policed heavily and they're allowed to run roughshod out there on the oceans and basically manage themselves. That's not very conducive to good management practice in general.

They failed on so many levels. Not only are you dealing with the lack of salmon but you're also going to these (North Pacific Fishery Management Council) meetings and it feels like they're preordained. They're already written in stone.
You're fighting it, you're really, really, really trying hard to get some level of stability and something back, but it's really hard to really put into context of what they've done. Because I truly believe that they have failed in my humble opinion. And that's kind of unforgivable. To kill off one ecosystem so another one can thrive.”

—Rich Freireich, Jr., of Grayling, Alaska

Learn more about threats to Alaska's Salmon: www.salmonstate.org/bycatch

Photos by Jacqueline Cleveland

Happy Labor Day everyone!Our offices will be closed today on Monday, September 7th, 2026 in observance of Labor Day.
09/07/2026

Happy Labor Day everyone!

Our offices will be closed today on Monday, September 7th, 2026 in observance of Labor Day.

Today is the last Teleconference Tuesday of the year! Join in to hear updates on fishing and river conditions on the Yuk...
08/25/2026

Today is the last Teleconference Tuesday of the year! Join in to hear updates on fishing and river conditions on the Yukon River at 1 PM today.

To join in on the In-Season Salmon Management Teleconference:
Call 1-800-315-6338 code 98566 # (YUKON)

Use your computer to join:
https://webcall.turbobridge.com/ Conference ID: 98566

If you missed today's Yukon River In-season Salmon Management Teleconference, you can listen to it here!August 18, 2026 ...
08/18/2026

If you missed today's Yukon River In-season Salmon Management Teleconference, you can listen to it here!

August 18, 2026 Teleconference:
http://yukonsalmon.org/wp-content/uploads/YRISMC-8.18.26.mp3

Join us next week for our last Yukon River In-season Salmon Management Teleconference of the season on Tuesday, August 25th at 1:00 PM Alaska/2:00 PM Yukon Time.

To join in on the In-Season Salmon Management Teleconference:
Call 1-800-315-6338 code 98566 # (YUKON)

*OR* Use your computer to join:
https://webcall.turbobridge.com/ Conference ID: 98566

Reminder that it's Teleconference Tuesday! Join in to hear updates on fishing and river conditions on the Yukon River at...
08/18/2026

Reminder that it's Teleconference Tuesday! Join in to hear updates on fishing and river conditions on the Yukon River at 1 PM today.

To join in on the In-Season Salmon Management Teleconference:
Call 1-800-315-6338 code 98566 # (YUKON)

Use your computer to join:
https://webcall.turbobridge.com/ Conference ID: 98566

Address

721 Depot Drive Suite 14
Anchorage, AK
99501

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm
Sunday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+19072723141

Website

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