BETHEL — The salmon season for the Kuskokwim River area again is starting with strict restrictions in a continuing effort to rebuild struggling king runs.
Under a state order announced Tuesday, starting midnight Friday subsistence fishermen won't be able to use gillnets in the main stem of the Kuskokwim or in salmon tributaries from the river mouth all the way to the Holitna River, near the village of Sleetmute.
That means no setnets anchored to the river bottom, and no driftnets pulled alongside skiffs.
Starting June 1, the restrictions cover the area from the Holitna to the Kuskokwim headwaters.
Targeted fishing for kings won't be allowed until at least June 12, under a Board of Fisheries directive approved earlier this year.
Chinook or king salmon are usually the first to return to the Kuskokwim, followed by reds and chums, then silvers.
Federal managers — who must manage for subsistence — have said they expect to take control of part of the Kuskokwim drainage but haven't yet announced specifics. Last year federal managers allowed a limited king harvest with selected fishermen targeting them for whole communities.
Fishermen in past years could fish openings with small-mesh nets that years ago were designed for whitefish but now are specially hung to get salmon. An advisory group made up of Kuskokwim River fishing interests said those smaller nets had become too effective against salmon, including kings.
"The way it was being used was inconsistent with the intent of the opportunity," said Aaron Poetter, Kuskokwim-area management biologist for the state Department of Fish and Game. "People really felt that opportunity was being abused. People were targeting king salmon with it. We've taken suggestions from our own users and decided to pull that opportunity."
Fishermen can use gillnets on ponds and tributaries other than the salmon-producing ones, Poetter said.
Fish and Game earlier closed sportfishing for king salmon in the area and the new order also closes any subsistence hook-and-line fishing for kings. People fishing for other species must let any kings go. But residents can use fish wheels, beach seines and dipnets, as long as kings are released alive.