BETHEL -- Biologists who study Kuskokwim River salmon and key people who rely on the fish are immersing themselves in science and policy in advance of the state’s planned 2016 adoption of new escapement -- or spawning -- goals for kings in the river.

The Kuskokwim River Salmon Management Working Group, which includes elders and commercial and subsistence fishing interests, took a close look at salmon spawning over the weekend in the lead-up to the state setting a new goal. That won't happen until January 2016, but group members say they want to understand the process so residents are not left out.

The Western Alaska river is the second longest in the state, and the salmon it produces are essential to life here.

The escapement goal is an important, and complex, measure. If it is too low or too high, it can create problems for fishermen -- or for the survival of the salmon. Already, residents of Bethel and Kuskokwim villages warn that the state previously set goals too low for some tributaries and worry particularly about the Tuluksak River, for which the state eliminated the escapement goal altogether.

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