A parasite that thrives in warm conditions adds to Yukon River salmon woes

By: Yereth Rosen

Outlets: Alaska Beacon

Published: July 22, 2026

Words: 3,235

Last Updated: 4 weeks, 1 day ago

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When Stan Zuray began noticing white spots, a mushy texture and a weird “sour watermelon” smell in the Chinook salmon he was pulling from the Yukon River, he knew something was going wrong.

That was back in the 1980s. By about 1990, he and others just stopped fishing what he calls “the ass end of the king run” because the fish were so low in quality, he said.

Everyone stopped fishing earlier than normal, he …

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