SOUTHEAST ALASKA SALMON FISHERMEN CRY FOUL
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fter Washington state-based Wild Fish Conservancy challenged the National Marine Fisheries Service’s approval of the Southeast Alaska commercial troll fishery for king salmon, a U.S. District Court ruling last month sent the Last Frontier’s panhandle into a frenzy. The Seattle-based judge, Richard Jones, sided with WFC’s argument that NMFS had failed to take into consideration the number of Chinook harvested in Southeast Alaska waters that originated in the Pacific Northwest states and how their absence affected southern resident killer whales that feed on them. Those salmon are protected and the orcas are considered endangered. Of course, WFC spokespeople were thrilled with the decision. Director Emma Halverson referred to “decades of unsustainable Chinook harvest management in Southeast Alaska” and said the ruling “marks a watershed moment for the recovery of southern resident orcas and wild Chinook.” “To date, reducing overharvest on the whale’s primary prey is the only scientifically proven recovery action moving forward that promises immediate access to Chinook for these starving orcas and which will help to recover and restore larger and more diverse wild Chinook these whales evolved to eat, which are fundamental for their long-term recovery,” Halverson added. On the losing end, Southeast Alaska’s fishing industry disputes the statistical analysis WFC determined about the fish harvested in Alaskan waters. Matt Donohoe, president of the Alaska Trollers Association, told KCAW radio that less than 2 percent of the kings fishermen catch originate from Puget Sound. “We don’t catch Puget Sound king salmon, the whole thing’s absurd. It’s right out of Alice in Wonderland,” Donohoe said in that KCAW interview. WFC alleges that 97 percent of the panhandle Chinook catch originates in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia streams. Fairy tale claims or not, Alaska Department of Fish and Game is certainly not happy with the court’s ruling. “The State of Alaska abides by the terms of the Pacific Salmon Treaty and the Biological Opinion that is tied to it and it is troubling that this ruling singles out our fisheries. We will be looking at our options in the coming weeks. In the meantime, Southeast Alaska salmon fisheries will proceed as normal,” ADFG commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang said in a statement. “Alaska should not be expected to be solely responsible for remedy. What is good for the goose is good for the gander. If this decision sticks, we will be looking at having all fisheries that affect these salmon being treated equally under the law.”
Chinook salmon caught by Southeast Alaska commercial fishing boats have pitted those fishermen and Washington state-based Wild Fish Conservancy, which successfully argued that fish from Puget Sound waters – plus resident southern killer whales that feed on them – are being compromised by the harvest. Alaskans are not pleased by the ruling. (RYAN HAGERTY/USFWS)
ALASKA BEAT TWEET OF THE MONTH
On Aug. 10, Alaskans celebrated the state’s iconic fish on #WildSalmonDay.
747 NOTABLE NUMBER
The number of coho salmon counted at the Kuskokwim River’s Bethel Test Fishery as of Aug. 14. The far lower than usual total prompted the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to close the coho fishery for the first time ever.
aksportingjournal.com | SEPTEMBER 2022
ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL
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