New Study Finds Alaska Responsible for Intercepting Countless Canadian-bound Salmon

A new study has found Alaskan fisheries at least partially responsible for record low salmon stocks, as well as other fish, in BC.

Commissioned by the Watershed Watch Salmon Society and SkeenaWild, the report found Alaskan fisheries responsible for harvesting hundreds of thousands of fish bound for BC waters.

In Canada, dwindling salmon stocks led to a closure of the vast majority of commercial salmon fisheries in BC.

But, despite this, Alaskan fleets just across the border notched 3,000 boat days, and harvested more than 800,000 sockeye, most of which originated in Canadian waters.

In addition, tens of thousands of Chinook and coho were harvested, along with unknown quantities of pink, chum, and steelhead.

The majority of interception fishing took place in Alaska’s District 104, on the outer coast of the panhandle, where local rivers do not support significant populations.