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Fish on! Ninth Circuit Strikes Down Seattle District Court's Stop to SE Alaska King Salmon Troll Fishery by Suzanne Downing Must Read Alaska, June 21, 2023

Chinook face numerous natural predators and hurdles
before reaching the identified pod of whales.

The 9th U.S. Court of Appeals put a stop to the implementation of a U.S. District Court decision that would have resulted in the closure of the chinook fishery in Southeast Alaska for the summer.

The controversy surrounding the chinook fishery arose due to a lawsuit by the Wildfish Conservancy, a Washington environmental lawsuit group that agued the troll fishery for chinook, also known as king salmon, poses a threat to 73 endangered orca whales that reside off the coasts of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. Those orcas prefer to eat king salmon, the litigants said, and Southeast Alaska troll fishers, some 700-850 miles away, were endangering the orcas.

The decision shows just how much elections have consequences. The Ninth Circuit, long considered the most liberal of all the circuits, has become more conservative after former President Donald Trump was able to replace 10 judges in three years.

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Attorney General Treg Taylor, and Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang voiced their appreciation for the court's decision.

"The 9th Circuit got it right when it found that Alaska's fishing interests outweighed the 'speculative environmental threats.' There's a gauntlet of obstacles before the Chinook reach our fishery. The ruling comes just in time so that our commercial troll fishers in Southeast have a season. And we are grateful for it," Dunleavy said.

Attorney General Treg Taylor talked about the impact of the ruling on Alaska's economy. "This is great news for Alaska and Southeast. The Ninth Circuit recognized the absurdity of closing down a vital economic industry for an issue that is already being remedied by the federal government. Thanks to the 9th Circuit, fishing season is on come July 1," Taylor said.

Doug Vincent-Lang, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said, "We are pleased that the 9th Circuit agreed to allow the Southeast Alaska troll fisheries to operate this season. We are incredibly proud of the coalition formed to defend our fisheries. I want to thank all involved," Vincent-Lang said.

Amy Daugherty, executive director of Alaska Trollers Association, wrote, "This has been an extremely challenging time for all of us. But thankfully, with the State's help and the Tribes' recent declarations and our delegation, we have alerted the court to the disastrous consequences of a summer in SE without trolling."

Alaska has asserted that the Southeast commercial chinook troll fishery has minimal impact on the listed species. The state pointed out that the fishery faces numerous natural predators and hurdles before reaching the identified pod of whales.

Alaska's legal filings stated, "Shutting down the Southeast Alaska salmon fisheries would have negligible, if any, impact on the Southern Resident Killer Whale, as any Chinook not caught in Southeast must travel some 700 miles past Canadian commercial and recreational fisheries, tribal fisheries, Northern Resident Killer Whale, and Steller sea lions, which are also predators of large Chinook, and Southern U.S. fisheries to reach the Southern Resident Killer Whale."

Related Pages:
Court Order Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

Related Pages:
Salmon Trolling Seasons Halted to Help Orca Recovery by Mateusz Perkowski, Capital Press, 5/8/23