OUR FISH - WHAT MAKES IT UNIQUE?

THE YUKON STORYfishing of the Yukon river for Kwikpak Fisheries

The Yukon River, its salmon and the people who catch them are unique among Alaskan fisheries. Fishing has been the lifeblood of the Lower Yukon and salmon are revered as a most precious resource by the Yup'ik Eskimos who live here. 

THE GREAT RIVER
The Yukon River originates at glaciers found at the south end of Lake Atlin which is 30 miles from the Gulf of Alaska in northern British Columbia. It twists a northern route through the rugged terrain of Canada, cuts through the Yukon Territory, then travels northwester into the unspoiled wilderness of Alaska. There, the great river crosses the Arctic Circle, traversing Alaska before heading southward to end its journey at the Bering Sea.  

The Yupik people called the Yukon River “Kwikpak” (pronounced kwee’puck). The name in the Yupik language has multiple meanings, including the Great River, Provider for All and Why We Live. The Yukon has sustained life and provided for the people who live along it shores for thousands of years.

The Yukon now serves as the main “highway”, the primary route of transportation for this remote, roadless area of Alaska. During the winter months when the river is frozen over the area is accessible only by air.

OUR SALMON
The Yukon River salmon are like no other. The fish must navigate up to 2,000 miles of cold, pristine water, swimming against powerful currents from the mouth of the river at the Bering Sea back upstream to as far away as British Columbia in Canada, to reach their natal spawning grounds. No other salmon in Alaska store up as much oil-rich Omega-3’s and other vital nutrients to sustain them on their long, rigorous journey. Our fishing grounds are at the mouth of the Yukon River in the tidal waters of the Bering Sea, where fish enter the river after spending several years in the ocean.

Kwik’pak Fisheries has been a leader in the development of stringent quality and handling guidelines that start with the fishermen and continue through the tender boats and our modern processing plant.  

Fishermen bleed and ice their catch immediately after they are brought onboard. The iced fish are then offloaded to larger tender boats that make their way to the Kwik’pak plant in Emmonak. There, the fish are dressed, graded and iced for air shipment to Anchorage, one of the best transportation hubs in the world. We shipped our salmon to markets throughout the world via Anchorage.

Today, salmon fishing continues to be vitally important to the Yupik people who continue to fish with family members. Sometimes three and four generations will fish together and then head for fish camps along the river to preserve their catch in traditional ways such as air drying and smoking  salmon strips.

OUR FISHERMEN
Nearly 10,000 years ago, ancestors of Alaska’s Yupik Eskimos crossed over the Bering Land Bridge from Siberia in search of food. They settled along the banks of the Lower Yukon River, where tremendous runs of wild salmon and abundant game provided everything they needed to survive. Along the banks of the river they built camps where they fish and hunted, preserving their catch in order to survive the harsh winters.

Today subsistence fishing continues to be the mainstay of the Yupik people. Income derived from commercial fishing helps them to preserve these long standing traditions. Yupik families continue to travel to “fish camps” to catch, dry and store the fish that will sustain them through the winter.
Many of those who fish today can trace their fishing roots in these communities back hundreds of generations and know that their salmon are very special fish.  They not only have a great fish to sell but a wonderful story to tell.

Many of those who fish today can trace their fishing roots in these communities back hundreds of generations and know that their salmon are very special fish.  They not only have a great fish to sell but a wonderful story to tell.