| Summary: | ABSTRACT: Management of subsistence fisheries for salmon ( Oncorhynchus sp.) in the Kuskokwim River has historically been conducted with minimal inseason harvest information. Due to this lack of information, managers have faced challenges making well-supported and defensible inseason decisions regarding fishing opportunities that simultaneously achieve conservation and subsistence harvest objectives, particularly during years of weak Chinook Salmon ( O. tshawytscha ) runs. In response to conservation concerns for the 2022 Kuskokwim River Chinook and Chum ( O. keta ) salmon runs, the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, in collaboration with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service–Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, the Orutsararmiut Native Council, and independent contractors collected and processed data to produce inseason subsistence salmon harvest estimates from the mainstem Kuskokwim River within the boundaries of the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, between and including the villages of Tuntutuliak and Akiak. Input data included drift and set gillnet counts from aerial surveys, and subsistence harvester interviews at the Bethel boat harbor, Bethel area fish camps, and community-based harvest monitors from the Lower Kuskokwim River villagesof Eek, Napakiak, Napaskiak, Kwethluk, Akiachak, Akiak, and Tuluksak. Using methods developed and refined during 2016–2018, the best estimate of total subsistence salmon harvest in the study area was 58,980 (95% confidence limits [CL]: 54,680–63,790) during 11 fishing opportunities with data collection between June 1 and July 9, 2022. Most salmon harvested were Chinook Salmon (29,950; 95% CL: 27,410–32,630), followed by Sockeye Salmon ( O. nerka 25,400; 22,770–28,540), and Chum Salmon (3,630; 3, 100–4,170). These estimates do not include harvests that (a) occurred in tributaries of the lower Kuskokwim River, (b) occurred downriver of Tuntutuliak or upriver of Akiak, (c) arose from non-gillnet capture methods, or occurred during fishing opportunities ...
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