Salmon shortages in Yukon River raise food security worries as winter looms
Severe erosion of the permafrost tundra threatens a school at Yupik Eskimo village of Napakiak in the Yukon Delta, Alaska on April 18, 2019. Photo: Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images
An unprecedented shortage in salmon in Alaska's Yukon River villages have forced local residents to rely on fish deliveries from outside sources, including non-profits and food processors, the Anchorage Daily News reports.
Why it matters: The fish shortage — and need for outside deliveries — means local residents in the Yukon are not earning money from their own economies to use on essential supplies, including gas, and they could face a winter without sufficient food resources.
Driving the news: According to Jack Schultheis, the general manager of a fishery in the lower Yukon, 1.6 million fish typically appear on the sonar at this time, but currently the sonar is picking up about 150,000 fish.
- "This is an incredibly unnerving time for our people," Ben Stevens, who manages the Tanana Chiefs Conference’s Tribal Natural Resources Commission, said.
- "There’s starvation in our DNA," he added, citing previous crashes in fish and animal stocks.
The big picture: The reason for the low levels of kings and chum salmon on the Yukon are unknown.
- "Hypotheses include warming waters from climate change, the proliferation of hatchery fish, and commercial fishing practices in the Bering Sea," per the Anchorage Daily News.
- About 25,000 pounds of salmon from six seafood processors will be donated to families along the Yukon.