To stop the decreasing run of salmon in Alaska led to sever restrictions on commercial and subsistence fisheries. The issue is so hot that it has become the topic of a special legislative hearing Wednesday Afternoon. Before the House Special Committee on Fisheries at the Dena’ina Center are lingering questions that many have been asking for the past 10 years.
The Department of Fish and Game said they’re trying to find out the reason behind such decrease of salmon and are busy study the survival of the stock. Jeff Regnart, Director of Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Commercial Fisheries, said that a close study of marine environment is necessary to know the exact reason behind such decline. The Arctic Yukon Kuskokwim region has seen a continual decrease in its salmon runs. There are four stocks of concern, including Chum and Chinook salmon in Norton Sound, and Chinook salmon in the Yukon River.
Karen Gillis, Executive Director of the Bering Sea Fishermen’s Association, has commented that more alarming than the declines themselves is the fact that as we embark on research ventures we’ve realized there are massive knowledge gaps, and it will take some time to have real answers to fully explain the declines.
