March 1, 2023 — The Juneau Assembly has joined Petersburg, Wrangell, Sitka and Ketchikan in supporting Southeast Alaska’s king salmon troll fishery against a lawsuit that could threaten its future.
A resolution passed by the Assembly on Monday night opposes a lawsuit filed by the Wild Fish Conservancy, a Washington-based environmental group. The group says the federal government hasn’t adequately addressed the fishery’s impacts on the food supply of Southern Resident killer whales in Puget Sound.
Assembly member Carole Triem drafted the resolution. At a committee meeting earlier this month, she said it’s important for Juneau to support the trollers.
“It’s a lot less visible in Juneau than it is in Petersburg, Wrangell, Sitka or Ketchikan – the size, and the impact of the commercial fishing industry – but it’s still a pretty big part of our economy,” she said.