Abundance and Run Timing of Adult Fall Chum Salmon in the Teedriinjik River, Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, 2023

The Yukon River drainage encompasses 854,700 km2 and is among the largest producers of wild Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha and Chum Salmon O. keta in North America (Daum and Osborne 1995). The salmon resources of this unique river support important subsistence and commercial fisheries throughout the drainage. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), through Section 302 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act and the Yukon River Salmon Agreement, has a responsibility to ensure that salmon populations within federal conservation units are conserved in their natural diversity, subsistence opportunities are maintained, and international treaty obligations are met. Estimating spawning escapements for major salmon stocks in the drainage is essential for addressing these mandates. The Teedriinjik River (formerly known as the Chandalar River) is a tributary of the Yukon River in Alaska. The fall Chum Salmon stock in the Teedriinjik River is one of the largest stocks in the Yukon River drainage (JTC 2016) and is an important resource for wildlife and subsistence users.