Alaska Fisheries Sonar

Anvik River
Fish

Yukon chum salmon migrate to the ocean shortly after emerging from the gravel and spend two to six years in the ocean. Summer chum salmon—which are genetically distinct from fall chum—spawn mostly in the lower 500 miles of the Yukon and weigh an average of seven pounds.

The Fish

Of the five salmon species found in the Yukon River drainage, chum salmon are the most abundant and occur in genetically distinct summer and fall runs. At the Anvik River sonar site, ADF&G detects Yukon summer chum salmon, which are smaller, spawn earlier and are more abundant than fall chum salmon. In the Anvik River, the summer chum salmon run overlaps with a small king run and, on even years, a substantial pink salmon run. Summer chum arrive before coho and fall chum salmon runs. In the lower Yukon Area, summer chum salmon begin to arrive at river ice breakup in late May and early June, and continue to arrive through July.

Commercial and subsistence harvests of Anvik River chum salmon occur throughout the mainstem Yukon River, from the delta to the mouth of the Anvik River and within the first 12 miles of the Anvik River. This section of the Yukon River includes Lower Yukon Area Districts 1, 2 and 3, and the lower portion of Subdistrict 4-A in the Upper Yukon Area. ADF&G manages Anvik River summer chum salmon to meet a Biological Escapement Goal of 350,000 to 700,000 chum salmon.