Kodiak's Buskin Lake and River are usually usually quiet salmon fishing spots, but on September 21st, 2024, dozens of people walk around the water looking for crayfish.

Kayla McDermott came with her spouse and two sons.

She says she had to balance catching crayfish with catching her kids.

It's kind of the same thing a little bit.

I was like, once you see him and then you're, Then they disappear and they're super fast.

So it's good time.

It's her family's first time coming to one of these derbies.

I only got two and they were okay.

They weren't super big, but they were still pretty good size.

Altogether, volunteers pulled hundreds of crayfish out of the water.

What do you think?

Do you know what that one is?

The Kodiak community has been trying to control the population by holding derbies like this one since 2020.

Crayfish were first found in the river about 20 years ago though, it's unclear exactly how or why they were introduced.

But they've long been suspected to have an impact on the native salmon populations.

So signal crayfish have kind of a variety of invasive traits.

Daniel Smith is a biologist with the Sun'aq Tribe of Kodiak and is working on his doctorate degree, studying the crayfish's as impact in the area.

The project is specifically looking at the population dynamics of signal crayfish on the Buskin River watershed, and the ecological and functional role of signal crayfish, and the direct and indirect effects on the salmon.

He's trying to get a better idea of where the crayfish are, what they eat, and how they fit into the bigger picture of the ecosystem.

And what we're seeing from the data, is that they're basically homebodies in the areas that we had originally tagged them and re-released them to, which is really good for us because we don't want this invasive species to migrate.

Smith says one problem is that crayfish eat salmon carcasses after they've spawned.

That removes nutrients that the fish bring back from the ocean, which normally flow through the water system and benefits the ecosystem.

The Sun'aq Tribe's natural resources director, Matt Van Daele, says they hosted a fall derby to catch the crayfish when they're most active.

This would be prime opportunity to catch a lot of adult crayfish, because it's the breeding season.

And so all the adults are up and about.

And turning the day into a big event keeps the community invested in keeping crayfish populations down.

because grants will dry up, people will begin to lose interest.

So how can we keep public interest and keep everybody's eyes on the ball of dealing with this?

Van Daele says the tribe's current grant to manage the crayfish population includes considering long term control and sustainability plans.

For McDermott and her kids.

They're just excited to be a part of it and learn from more experienced crayfish wranglers.

I can tell a lot that some of the kids have been out here quite a few times this, they're like, oh, I know how to handle them.

They have the gloves and everything.

I said, see, they're well prepared.

They know what they're doing.

She says she hopes to bring her family back to another derby someday.

For now, there's still plenty in the water.

Along the upper buckskin River.

I'm Brian Venua.