The Federal Subsistence Board met January 22−24 to take action on proposed changes to Federal subsistence fishing regulations. Actions taken by the Board that affect the Yukon River area include:

• In Districts 1, 2, and 3, from June 1 through July 15, you may not possess king salmon taken for subsistence purposes unless both tips (lobes) of the tail fin have been removed before the person conceals the salmon from plain view or transfers the salmon from the fishing site. This change aligns Federal regulations with existing State regulations.
• A permit is no longer required when using a drift gillnet to harvest Chinook salmon in portions of the Yukon River waters adjacent to Federal management units within Subdistricts 4B and 4C. Use of this gear is only allowed during open subsistence salmon fishing periods from June 10 through July 14.
• Customary trade of Yukon River Chinook salmon is restricted to only transactions between those Federally qualified rural residents with a customary and traditional use determination under Federal regulations for Yukon River Chinook salmon.

The new regulations took effect April 1, 2013 and are published in the 2013-2015 Federal subsistence fishing regulations book. The regulations are also posted on the Federal Subsistence Management Program website, https://alaska.fws.gov/asm/home.html. If you have any questions regarding this news release, please call the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at (907) 455-1849.