The kuskokwim river supports the largest subsistence salmon fishery in the state of alaska

The productivity of chinook salmon has been declining since 2007, and in recent years returns of other species of salmon are also declining. The result has been significant subsistence harvest restrictions have been put in place to meet conservation goals. Fisheries management has become a complicated and often confusing system of fishing regulations, various advisory group inputs, management objectives, and jurisdictions. Subsistence fishers have routinely expressed feeling marginalized when IT comes to managing the resource they rely so heavily upon. Napaimute has had a successful pfmp in place since 2016. And is proposing to continue this program in 2024-2027. The overarching goal of the pfmp is to facilitate the management of and conserve fisheries resources through sustainable use for the benefit of federally qualified subsistence users. The proposed program specifically addresses services we would provide throughout the region: the need for effective outreach, the promotion of natural resource conservation, support of research and monitoring projects, technical support, local workforce development, and education opportunities for rural youth. To accomplish this, the proposed program will employ a biologist position, an outreach coordinator position, and as many as three part-time fisheries technicians. The proposed program also identifies a path by which napaimute will continue to build capacity so that subsistence users may actively participate in the management and conservation of their vital fisheries resources for future generations.