The State of Alaska is reminding its residents of this summer's plan to protect more chinook salmon bound for Yukon waters. Salmon managers on both sides of the border are predicting another below-average to poor chinook migration up the Yukon River.

"Chinook salmon that spawn in the Canadian portion of the Yukon River produce, on average, half the chinook salmon returning to the Yukon River, and are subject to the highest exploitation rate of any Yukon salmon stock," says a recent press release from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

"Successful stewardship of this stock is necessary to prevent the current temporary hardships from becoming permanent."

As of late, there has been an effort to convince the state's subsistence fishery that it needs to cut back on its catch for the sake of the chinook's long-term health.

For two years running, there's been no commercial or sport fishery on the Yukon side of the border, and first nations have been asked to cut their aboriginal harvest by half.

There was no commercial fishery for chinook in Alaska in 2008, and management officials are predicting there won't be one this year because of the anticipated return.

The state's subsistence fishery, made up of aboriginal and non-aboriginal Alaskans, generally harvests about 50,000 chinook, of which 50 per cent or so are headed home to spawn in Yukon waters.

Last summer, records indicate Alaska's subsistence fishery harvested a total of 45,000 chinook. It's estimated 40 per cent or 18,000 were Canadian origin chinook.

The state's commercial chum fishery recorded an incidental catch of 4,600 chinook.

By comparison, there were 3,400 chinook harvested on the Yukon side of the border.

The runs of chinook and summer chum overlap each other.

For that reason, the ability to harvest summer chum in Alaska "is likely to be constrained by ongoing chinook salmon conservation efforts," reads the state's press release.

Frank Quinn, the Whitehorse director for the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans, said Tuesday that Alaska's notice to its subsistence fishery is a reminder "we are all in this together."

"What they have committed to demonstrates their resolve to conserve this year," he said.

The Yukon's aboriginal community travelled to Fairbanks during the winter to tell Alaska's subsistence fishery that it needs to cut back to do its part to conserve the chinook stocks.

Technical staff with the joint Yukon River Panel which recommends salmon management strategies on both sides of the river are predicting a total run of 61,000 to 72,000 Canadian chinook.

The spawning escapement goal for the Yukon remains at 45,000, which leaves 16,000 to 27,000 chinook to share among all consumers - on both side of the border.