Dwindling Alaska salmon leave Yukon River tribes in crisis

By NATHAN HOWARD and GILLIAN FLACCUS
Associated Press

STEVENS VILLAGE, Alaska (AP) — Two salmon species have all but disappeared from Alaska’s Yukon River this year, prompting the state to shut down fishing in an effort to save them. The ban on salmon harvests has created desperation in tribal communities that stockpile the migratory fish to get through the harsh winters of the Alaska interior, where the nearest grocery store is often hours away. Scientists say warming oceans and rivers caused by climate change and the impacts of commercial fishing are the likely cause of the demise of the fish central to the diet, culture and religion of the Yukon River tribes.