Joaqlin Estus

By Joaqlin Estus ICT Salmon populations on the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers have plummeted to record lows and fisheries managers shut down most or all of the fishing on the rivers last summer. At the Alaska Federation of Natives convention in October…

ICT ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A federal judge has temporarily banned the state of Alaska from holding fish openings that conflict with federal openers on the Kuskokwim River in western Alaska. The state had been scheduling openings for all Alaskans on the…

Joaqlin Estus Indian Country Today When fish numbers are low, who gets to continue to harvest fish in rural Alaska? Federal agencies say only local, rural residents. The state of Alaska says all Alaskans. The Biden administration filed suit on May 17…

Yukon River chum salmon, which make up 70 percent of the subsistence harvest in the region, didn’t turn up this year. Neighbors are helping out but people worry about hunger in the coming winter. It’s as if emergency food supplies had to be delivered…

'They haven’t exposed the community because they haven’t been out in the community' A worker from out-of-state tested positive for COVID-19 in Dillingham where the enormous Bristol Bay sockeye salmon fishery is due to kick off in mid-to-late June.…

The tribal health organization that serves Alaska's Bristol Bay region wants the state to call off this year's season at the world’s richest sockeye salmon fishery. “If COVID-19 comes to our region, even the handling of our summer injuries may be…

The tribal health organization that serves Alaska's Bristol Bay region wants the state to call off this year's season at the world’s richest sockeye salmon fishery. “If COVID-19 comes to our region, even the handling of our summer injuries may be…

COVID-19 pandemic threatens health in Alaska Native villages and the thousands of workers who usually arrive for the short, lucrative Bristol Bay fishery Is it possible to even have a commercial fishing season during a pandemic? Bristol Bay leaders…