The Arctic, a region characterized by its extreme cold and icy landscapes, is undergoing a profound transformation. Over the past century, air temperatures in this remote expanse have surged by more than 2 degrees Celsius, a rate of warming that significantly outpaces the global average of 0.8 degrees Celsius during the same period (Post et al. 2019). Recently there has been an escalation in Arctic warming, with 0.75 degrees Celsius of the total 2-degree increase occurring in the span of a decade (Post et al. 2019). This temperature ascent has not gone unnoticed on a global scale, as the five warmest years on record worldwide have all materialized since 2015 (NOAA and NASA, 2020). Meanwhile, the repercussions of this warming are evident in Alaska, where four of the five warmest years have transpired since 2014 (Post et. al 2019).

While the impacts of this climatic shift on Arctic specialist species have been widely anticipated and meticulously documented (as reviewed in Post et al., 2019), there exists a less apparent but equally significant concern. The temperature climb at high latitudes could usher in adverse consequences for fish and wildlife species of the Northern Hemisphere that communities depend on for subsistence. It is in this context that harvest trends for 5 salmon species in the Yukon River drainage emerge as a subject of investigation.