Board meeting held for Alaska Peninsula/Aleutian Islands and Chignik.
Vivian Korthuis, Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Village Council Presidents (AVCP), testified this morning (Feb. 21st, 2026) at the Alaska Board of Fisheries, Alaska Peninsula/Aleutian Islands and Chignik meeting held at the William A. Egan Center in Anchorage.
The week-long meeting, part of the Board’s 2025–26 cycle of regional fishery meetings, is focused on Alaska Peninsula / Aleutian Islands / Chignik finfish regulatory proposals.
AVCP’s participation underscored the organization’s continued commitment to sustainable fisheries management and to representing the interests of Southwest Alaska communities, commercial harvesters, subsistence fishers, and Alaska Native peoples. Board agenda items included a range of proposals affecting salmon and other finfish harvest strategies in the region.
“Subsistence is our Way of Life. To us, salmon are not just a resource. They are our identity, both culturally and spiritually,” Korthuis told the Board. “If the fish do not make it home, nothing else matters.”
During her testimony, Korthuis addressed AVCP’s priorities related to fishery sustainability, community access to fishing resources, and management decisions that directly impact rural and tribal stakeholders. She emphasized the severe and ongoing impacts of salmon declines on Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta communities, noting that subsistence users have borne a disproportionate share of the conservation burden.
“Our racks are empty. Our freezers and storage bags are empty. Our Elders are wondering whether they will see abundance again in their lifetime,” she said.
AVCP Traditional Chief Nels Alexie also testified before the Board in Yup’ik, with translation provided by AVCP Cultural Liaison John McIntyre. Alexie shared traditional teachings emphasizing respect for the ocean and rivers, the responsibility to take only what is needed, and the spiritual connection between salmon and the survival of Indigenous peoples.
“Salmon are not just a resource. They are life,” Alexie shared through translation, asking how much longer communities are expected to wait as fewer fish return each year.
AVCP Executive Committee member and Subsistence Committee representative Martin Andrew also provided testimony, highlighting the impacts of unrestricted Area M commercial harvests on Western Alaska salmon stocks.
Andrew emphasized that Area M June fisheries harvest large numbers of mature Chinook and chum salmon originating from outside the region, including the Yukon-Kuskokwim and other Western Alaska river systems.
“Allowing Area M commercial harvests to increase while Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim escapement goals and subsistence needs are not being met violates the State Constitution and Alaska’s sustainable salmon policy,” Andrew told the Board.
He urged continued real-time genetic sampling and analysis, stronger in-season management, and consideration of multi-year closures in areas with consistently high interceptions of Chinook and chum salmon.
Collectively, AVCP Board members lead by Chairman Thaddius Tikiun, urged the Alaska Board of Fisheries, to support proposals that provide meaningful salmon passage during peak migration periods and to uphold the State of Alaska’s constitutional obligation to manage fisheries for sustained yield, with subsistence as the priority during times of shortage. There were 219 people who signed up to testify on Area M.
The Alaska Board of Fisheries Area M meeting continues through February 25, 2026, with multiple proposal discussions anticipated that may affect subsistence, personal use, and commercial finfish regulations.
The Association of Village Council Presidents (AVCP) is a regional non-profit tribal consortium comprising 56 federally recognized Tribes of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. AVCP’s region is approximately 55,000 square miles, with a population of 27,000 residing in 48 communities along the Yukon River, Kuskokwim River, and Bering Sea coast. The residents of the region are primarily Yup’ik, Cup’ik, and Athabascan. AVCP promotes self-determination and protection and enhancement of cultural and traditional values. As part of its mission, AVCP has long been committed to advocating for the protection of our traditional waters and traditional resources.