June 10, 2023 — More than 100 salmon trollers packed a Sitka meeting Wednesday night with sharp questions about the future of an iconic Southeast Alaska fishery, facing what could be an unprecedented full shutdown of this year’s chinook trolling season.
“I’m optimistic, but I’m also scared as heck,” said Eric Jordan, a lifelong fisherman and resident of trolling stronghold Sitka at the standing room-only meeting with federal National Marine Fisheries Service officials.
The closure of the king salmon fishery in Southeast Alaska would be economically devastating, according to many in the region who rely on the valuable fish for their annual income.
A federal judge in Washington state effectively shut down the fishery in May in response to a lawsuit brought by Wild Fish Conservancy, a Washington organization. The suit contends that the fishery should be closed to protect endangered killer whales in Puget Sound that feed on chinook salmon.
Southeast Alaska’s summer troll fishery would typically open July 1. The state has requested that a federal appeals court decide whether the fishery will open by June 23 to give fishermen time to get ready for the season. But some in the industry say that will already be too late.
The National Marine Fisheries Service is doing “everything we can” to respond to the lawsuit, including work on a new biological opinion that could address some of the Seattle judge’s concerns, said Jon Kurland, the Juneau-based regional administrator for NOAA Fisheries Alaska, at a Wednesday night meeting meant to give trollers a chance to ask questions.