Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank highlighted the economic loss experienced in Alaska. (Photo: YouTube, CommerceNews/NOAA)

Commercial fishery failure declared for Alaska

UNITED STATES
Monday, September 17, 2012, 00:40 (GMT + 9)

Acting US Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank has declared a commercial fishery failure on Alaska’s Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers and in the Cook Inlet due to low chinook salmon returns over various years.

The disaster declaration makes it possible for Congress to allocate funds toward alleviating the financial hardship to the affected fishers and their communities. If Congress decides to appropriate money for this purpose, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will work closely with it and the state of Alaska to develop plans to assist the communities in question.

Blank noted that some Cook Inlet salmon fisheries have seen revenue losses of up to 90 per cent of their historical average during the 2012 season, seriously damaging local economies that rely on fishing.

“We also understand that the communities along the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers are heavily dependent on both commercial and subsistence fisheries and are particularly vulnerable to dramatic reductions in chinook salmon. I am making a fishery failure declaration so that Congress is able to appropriate funding that will mitigate some of the economic consequences of the reduced fish stocks,” Blank stated.

“The future challenges facing the men and women in this industry and in these communities are daunting, and we want to do everything we can to help them through these difficult times,” she continued.

In July, Alaska Governor Sean Parnell and the Alaska Federation of Natives asked for the disaster declaration for the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers. In August, Parnell added Cook Inlet to the request.

State Commerce Department officials estimate that this summer Alaska’s commercial fishing experienced a loss of USD 2 million to USD 3.7 million, Parnell spokesperson Sharon Leighow said, Associated Press reports.

The cause of the poor returns remains a mystery, but researchers suspect ocean factors, said Robert Clark, Alaska’s chief sport fish scientist.

"This time around it looks like there's a real statewide downturn and that leads you to the idea that it's probably something in the early marine environment or something in the marine environment itself," he said.

Blank is declaring the commercial fishery failure under the Magnuson-Stevens Act and the Interjursdictional Fisheries Act.

Dr Jane Lubchenco, NOAA administrator, was optimistic, stating that by working together, healthy fish stocks, profitable fisheries and lively fishing communities are possible.

Related article:

- Alaskan governor seeks federal disaster declaration for salmon

By Natalia Real
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

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