Even though the Kuskokwim River has been closed down to subsistence fishing for the last week, the boats hit the water and cast their nets in many of the villages there.
Dozens of boats participated in the harvest at the advise of their elders. Elders have been meeting with fishermen in the villages telling them , “You should fish for your families.”
Some of the communities have issued resolutions declaring their right to fish as sovereign governments. The village of Napaskiak even sent their resolution to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar in Washington. They had about a dozen boats on the water fishing yesterday.
Thirty miles north of Bethel, in Akiak, as fishermen took to the water, wildlife troopers closed on them, cited three boats and seized their gear. According to one witness, a fisherman stood by and watched as his net was cut up in front of him. This caused a protest reaction from the group’s families as women and children took to the water, holding up signs saying “fill our smoke house with fish,” and “feed your families, go fish.” and floated alongside the fishermen as they plied the waters for salmon.
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Later, a law-enforcement floatplane attempted to land, according to reports, but the plane was unable to safely touch down on the river because there were too many boats on the water.
Openings for subsistence fishing have been announced by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Sections one, two and three.
Section one opens on Friday the 22nd and will remain open until Sunday.
In Section Two, the fisheries will open on Monday the 26th and stay open until Wednesday.
In Section Three, the season will open on Friday the 29th and go until Sunday the 1st.
Mesh size for these openings is six-inch mesh with nets shorter than 50 fathoms long.
Sections Four and Five are currently open, but will see closures soon.
Hook and line fishing remains closed.