This report provides the department's reassessment of Yukon River king salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, which has been classified as a yield concern. A review of Yukon River summer chum salmon O. keta is also provided because the overlapping run timing with the king salmon run greatly affects management of both species.

This report provides the department's reassessment of Yukon River king salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, which has been classified as a yield concern. A review of Yukon River summer chum salmon O. keta is also provided because the overlapping run timing with the king salmon run greatly affects management of both species.

In response to the guidelines established in the Policy for the Management of Sustainable Salmon Fisheries (SSFP; 5 AAC 39.222), the Alaska Board of Fisheries (board) classified the Yukon River king salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha stock as a stock of yield concern at its September 2000 work session. An action plan was developed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and acted upon by the board in January 2001. The status as a yield concern was continued at the January 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2016 board meetings. The stock of yield concern for king salmon was recommended to continue at the 2018 work session. King salmon escapement goals were generally met throughout the Alaska portion of the Yukon River drainage the past 5 years (2014-2018). Conservative management actions taken inseason have contributed to achieving escapement goals. Run size has been improving since 2013, but runs are still below the 1989-1998 period when run sizes were much larger and provided unrestricted subsistence harvest and a consistent commercial harvest. King salmon runs in 2014-2016 and 2018 have shown moderate increases sufficient to provide some subsistence harvest, but not commercial harvest. The run size in 2017 was the largest since 2003 and could have provided a full subsistence harvest and a surplus available for commercial. Inseason assessment uncertainty makes it challenging to fully utilize available surpluses. Yukon River summer chum salmon (O. keta) runs have had large surpluses available for harvest the past 5 years.

In response to the guidelines established in the Policy for the Management of Sustainable Salmon Fisheries (SSFP; 5 AAC 39.222), the Alaska Board of Fisheries (BOF) classified the Yukon River fall chum salmon Oncorhynchus keta stock as a yield concern and classified the Toklat and Fishing Branch Rivers fall chum salmon stocks as management concerns at the September 2000 work session. An action plan was developed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF & G) and acted upon by the BOF in January 2001. The SSFP directs ADF & G to assess salmon stocks in areas addressed during the BOF regulatory cycle to identify stocks of concern and to reassess the stock of concern status. In 2003, the department recommended continuation of the Yukon River fall chum salmon classification as a stock of yield concern, which was supported by the BOF at its January 2004 meeting. The Toklat River stock was removed as a management concern because the BOF realigned the escapement objective from an optimal escapement goal (OEG) to the established biological escapement goal (BEG) which did not fit the criteria of a management concern. However, the Toklat River fall chum salmon stock was included in the drainage-wide yield concern classification. The Fishing Branch River stock was also removed as a management concern because management of that portion of the drainage is covered by an annex to the Pacific Salmon Treaty, the U.S./Canada Yukon River Salmon Agreement (Agreement) which is governed under the authority of the Yukon River Panel (Panel). Based on the much improved run size since 2002 and large available surpluses in 2003, 2005 and 2006 being near the historical yield, the Yukon River fall chum salmon stock no longer meets the stock of yield concern criteria. Therefore, ADF & G recommends the Yukon River fall chum salmon stock no longer be considered as a stock of concern. BEGs for fall chum salmon and the Yukon River Drainage Fall Chum Salmon Management Plan were both reviewed and updated at the January 2004 BOF meeting. Escapement and harvest monitoring projects are in place to aid in managing for sustained yield objectives. Proposal 173 has been submitted to the BOF for considering changes to the Yukon River Coho Salmon Management Plan to coordinate management of the overlapping fall chum and coho salmon fisheries.