US: Alaska governor seeks disaster funding for Kotzebue after poorest salmon harvest on record

Published 2024년 12월 5일

Tridge summary

Alaska Governor Muke Dunleavy has requested federal financial relief for the Kotzebue District's fishers and seafood businesses after recording the poorest harvest on record for chum salmon. The 2024 harvest was projected to yield between 200,000 and 300,000 chum salmon but only resulted in 5,392, valuing the fishery at just USD 25,085, which is 98% lower than the five-year average. The cause of this significant decline is not yet known but could be linked to changes in freshwater and marine ecosystems, as well as ocean competition. This situation is of great concern due to its potential impact on the economy and livelihoods of the communities in the district, which are heavily dependent on fishing. The overall salmon harvest in Alaska also saw a significant decrease, with the total harvest falling 56% from the previous year and 25% below projections, resulting in a harvest value of USD 304 million, the third-lowest on record since 1985.

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Original content

Alaska Governor Muke Dunleavy has requested federal financial relief for fishers and seafood businesses in the Kotzebue District in Northwest Alaska after the area experienced the “poorest harvest on record.”Despite projections that fishers in the district would harvest between 200,000 and 300,000 chum salmon in 2024, only 5,392 chum salmon were harvested. That places the value of the 2024 Kotzebue salmon fishery at USD 25,085 (EUR 23,741) – 98 percent lower than the five-year average of USD 1 million (EUR 946,408).In a letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Dunleavy said the historically poor harvest could be the beginning of a collapse of chum stocks in the area similar to what the state experienced with the collapse of several salmon stocks in the Norton Sound, Yukon, and Kuskokwim salmon fisheries. The exact cause of the poor harvest isn’t clear to Alaskan authorities, but changes in freshwater and marine ecosystems, as well as competition in the ocean, are listed as ...

Source: Seafoodsource