Seasonal Salmon Harvests in Southeast Alaska Could Stop Soon

The winter and summer harvests of salmon in commercial fisheries in southeast Alaska should be stopped to improve orca populations, according to the recommendation of a magistrate judge.

Closing fisheries would improve the amount of salmon available to Southern Resident Killer Whales and help population stability and growth, Magistrate Judge Michelle Peterson said in her Tuesday report.

The Wild Fish Conservancy claimed that the National Marine Fisheries Service failed to comply with the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act when it issued its 2019 Southeastern Alaska Biological Opinion that approved the maximum salmon harvesting limits allowed under ...