March 19, 2015 — A growing number of restaurant customers and grocery store shoppers in the country are asking for Alaska's Copper River sockeye salmon by name. But the marketing effort that popularized the firm, red fish could be in jeopardy as the commercial fishermen who provide much of its funding decide whether to pull their support.
Ten years ago, the fleet of drift fishermen who hang nets from their boats to catch salmon in Prince William Sound voted to assess itself a 1 percent tax to fund Alaska's first regional seafood development association.
The Copper River/Prince William Sound Marketing Association has since helped create brand-name recognition and raise the price of the region's sockeye to the highest in the state.
But some drifters frustrated with the association's rules and alleged lack of transparency are seeking to eliminate the tax, and they have forced a vote on the matter. Ballots were due in early March, and results are expected this weekend.
A smaller group of area setnet fishermen — those who let out nets from shore — later joined the association and have initiated a separate vote.
Association board members say without the drifters' contribution — about $545,334 in 2014 — continuing their efforts will be impossible once current funding runs out. But those who support the vote say the board needs to reassess its operations.
Read the full story from the Associated Press at ABC News