Fisheries – Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges

Presented by

Bill Carter, Selawik National Wildlife Refuge Fish Biologist

With comments by Co-investigators Ray Hander, USFWS Fish Biologist and Randy Brown, USFWS Fish Biologist (retired)

Please join us at the locations below or via Zoom

NOTE: Kotzebue meeting changed to Refuge office

Tuesday, February 17, 2026, 5 pm Alaska Time

Kotzebue – Bill Carter – change of venue – Selawik National Wildlife Refuge Headquart, 160 2nd Ave. Refreshments.
Soldotna – Watch Party at Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, Ski Hill Road
Anchorage – Watch Party at REI’s Community Room, 500 E. Northern Lights Blvd.
Homer – Watch Party at Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, 95 Sterling Hwy.
Or from anywhere via ZOOM

The inlet-lake-river complex of Selawik National Wildlife Refuge is highly productive and an ecosystem unique in the whole state of Alaska. Selawik River, PC Steve Hillebrand/USFWS

Straddling the Arctic Circle in a remote corner of northwestern Alaska lies Selawik Refuge, a special place of extreme climate, free-flowing rivers, abundant wildlife and an iconic Arctic fish – the sheefish. The upper Selawik River is one of two spawning areas in the region for sheefish, known as Sii in the local Inupiaq language. A large permafrost thaw slump began sliding into the river in 2004 releasing so much sediment that it turned the clear Selawik River muddy like the Yukon for nine straight summers. Fish biologists and local people were concerned about the effect on the spawning grounds. Come hear from Bill Carter, Selawik Refuge fish biologist, about what they learned about sheefish and this slump in a study spanning nearly 20 years. Find out how they determined that the impact was not what many feared but that sheefish proved to be remarkably adaptable. Join us to learn the current knowledge of Sii (aka sheefish or inconnu) in the Kotzebue Sound Region.

Sheefish are an important subsistence food year-round for Alaska Native Peoples and other residents of rural Alaska. Sheefish is so important for subsistence that the Inupiaq name for the region is Siilvik, meaning in English “the place for sheefish”. Check out this podcast of Kotzebue resident Siikauraq Martha Whiting talking about how locals catch, preserve and cook sheefish.

Although a member of the salmon family, sheefish flesh is white and may be preserved by drying or freezing.

Sheefish are the largest of Alaska’s whitefish and commonly live upwards of 35 years and weigh as much as 60 pounds. Unlike salmon, sheefish can spawn multiple times over their long lives. They inhabit large systems of interconnecting lakes, rivers and estuarine waters in the Yukon, Kuskokwim, Selawik, and Kobuk rivers in Alaska. Sheefish typically inhabit brackish waters in winter to feed and then begin to move upstream during the summer. In late summer, the mature fish spawn in specific upstream stretches of the river. After spawning, they quickly head back downstream to the feeding grounds.

Biographies

Bill Carter knew he wanted to be a fish biologist since age 6 when he watched Jacques Cousteau on television. Bill came north to Alaska for adventure where he ran sled dogs for Iditarod mushers for several winters. He worked 16 seasons as a fish technician at the US Fish and Wildlife Service Northern Field Office in Fairbanks, often on fish projects at the Selawik Refuge. He received his master’s degree from UAF and in 2014, Bill was hired as the fish biologist for the Selawik Refuge. One aspect that Bill finds special about the Refuge is the many interconnected waterways – from the vast wetlands to the hundreds of lakes and ponds, to the bays, to the ocean. There is a great diversity of fish habitats in the Selawik Refuge, but salmon do not occur. Sheefish is the very special fish in the Refuge – an essential subsistence food for local people and of great ecological interest.

Ray Hander began his work in fishery science as a volunteer in 1987 with the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge. His parents encouraged him to pursue this volunteer opportunity which they noticed in an Audubon newsletter. A year later, Ray was hired as a fish technician and worked at the Kodiak Refuge from1988 until 1997. He later completed a master’s degree at UAF, studying coho salmon. Ray has worked as a fishery scientist at the USFWS Fisheries Office since 2000 and in 2004 began research on sheefish at the Selawik National Wildlife Refuge. Ray finds the Selawik Refuge and the sheefish research especially interesting due to the highly productive inlet-lake-river complex, an ecosystem unique in the whole state of Alaska. He has enjoyed working with the people of the Selawik region, finding a gracious welcome to work together towards further understanding of the life of sheefish.
Selawik Refuge’s entrance sign features a sheefish as “ambassador animal” for the refuge . It was created in 2024 by Inupiaq artist Norma Ballot and former refuge educator and artist Christina Nelson.

Presented by
Spencer Rearden, Manager, Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge
Kevin Whitworth, Executive Director, Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission

This program was recorded on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025 at 5 pm Alaska Time

First it was the Chinook salmon that drastically declined in the Kuskokwim River. Then the chums and coho salmon followed with steep declines. This multi-year, multi-species salmon disaster was not just an ecological crisis for the Kuskokwim River drainages of the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge but a significant humanitarian crisis for all the villages that depend on salmon for food security and cultural integrity. Come hear from Kevin Whitworth of the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission and Yukon Delta Refuge Manager Spencer Rearden about this crisis and how a unique partnership of local tribes and the refuge formed up to manage salmon on the river. They will address the current state of salmon and how we got here. How Tribes up and down the Kuskokwim came together to form the Inter-Tribal Fish Commission to attack this problem that threatened their way of life. And how the refuge came to co-manage a fishery with the Tribes, setting openings and closings for fish harvest, that under normal circumstances would be done by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

In villages along the Kuskokwim, salmon and subsistence are a way of life. Fish drying racks awaiting the return of the salmon. PC USFWS

Background

The Kuskokwim River is the second longest river in Alaska and home to all five species of Pacific salmon. Salmon are key to the wildlife and ecology of the 20 million-acre Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, the largest refuge in the nation. Predators such as bears and eagles depend on the fish as do other fish species such as the record-sized rainbow trout, Dolly Varden and northern pike who feast on salmon eggs. But these impacts on the refuge were not the main reason the refuge was drawn into salmon management. The 1980 Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) which established the 16 national wildlife refuges in Alaska as they exist today, also specified a local rural subsistence priority for use of Alaska wildlife in times of shortage. This is a time of shortage. The refuge had to take over management of the fishery from the state to ensure subsistence priority which meant reducing harvest and determining fishing opportunities while balancing subsistence and conservation needs.

Yukon Delta Refuge’s fish biologist Nate Akers (left) with Evan Waska of Kwethluk collecting salmon smolt from the live trap for identification and measurements. PC Andrew Magel/KRITFC

The Kuskokwim watershed is home to 40 communities of Yup’ik, Cup’ik, Deg Xit’an, and Dené people that have depended on salmon as the mainstay of their diet for thousands of years. Gathering subsistence foods is a central part of village life and cultural identity. When the salmon runs collapsed in 2010 and remained depressed, tribal leaders came together in 2015 to form the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission to ensure local, Alaska Native people have a say in the fishery. The Fish Commission represents the Tribes in fisheries management, research, and monitoring, as guided by Alaska Native values and knowledge, and the best available scientific information. Five Managers are elected annually to represent the Tribes at the co-management table with Yukon Delta Refuge under a Memorandum of Understanding. These In-Season Managers and Yukon Delta Refuge’s fisheries team work together using in-season assessment data and local and Traditional Knowledge to conserve and restore Kuskokwim salmon, while providing for as much subsistence harvest as possible.

The salmon crisis on the Kuskokwim is unique in its severity, longevity and impact on people. Salmon management on the Kusko is unique in that it is a partnership of a wildlife refuge and Tribes. This is not the way fisheries decsions are usually made. Come learn more.

Biographies

Growing up in McGrath, Kevin Whitworth learned from his elders to love the land, the river, and the natural world from an early age. He spent many hours exploring, hunting, fishing, and trapping out in the woods and on the rivers. Through high school and college, Kevin spent his summers working as a biological technician at several wildlife refuges across the state. After graduating from University of Alaska Fairbanks, he worked a number of full-time positions for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, including Deputy Refuge Manager for the Innoko National Wildlife Refuge in McGrath. Kevin has also worked for the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, and as the Lands and Natural Resources Manager for MTNT Limited, the McGrath village corporation. While working for the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, Kevin met his wife, Dara who also worked for the refuge. They have a young son and two daughters and enjoy spending time at their remote cabin, dogsledding with their team of dogs, and being outside as much as possible. He joined Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission team in May 2018 and has served as Executive Director since 2022.

Spencer Rearden grew up in rural Alaska, where wide open spaces, vast public lands, and a deep connection to the environment shaped his passion for conservation and science. Spencer was raised in a subsistence lifestyle centered on fishing, berry picking, and hunting — traditions that continue to influence both his personal and professional life. Spencer earned his Bachelor’s degree in Fisheries and Wildlife and a Master’s degree in Wildlife Science from Oregon State University. He started his career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) as a Wildlife Biologist with the Office of Subsistence Management, where he became well-versed in the Federal subsistence regulatory process and Title VIII of ANILCA. Through this work, he helped develop and justify regulatory changes to conserve fish and wildlife resources while supporting rural and Native subsistence users. Over the past 20 years, Spencer has worked in both private and government positions, primarily in Alaska.

At the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, he has held several roles, including Big Game Biologist, Assistant Refuge Manager, Supervisory Wildlife Biologist, and Refuge Manager since 2023. Spencer’s education, professional expertise, and firsthand understanding of Alaska’s subsistence traditions have helped him build strong partnerships with local and Native communities to advance conservation goals. He remains dedicated to ensuring that subsistence practices, and the cultural values they represent, endure for future generations.

The Kisaralik River, an important tributary to the Kuskokwim, was the scene of the Friends Discovery trip to the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge in 2024. Anecdotally, we noted sharply decreased numbers of Dolly Vardin and rainbow trout compared to a decade ago. Trout and Dolly Vardin are predators on salmon eggs so likely their populations are affected by the salmon collapse. PC Poppy Benson/Friends

Sheefish: What We Have Learned

Tribes and the Yukon Delta Refuge Uniting to Address the Salmon Collapse on the Kuskokwim – Recording Available