The Taku, Stikine, and Unuk need your voices!

Photo by Chris Miller

Hours of net mending, working on engines, tying flies, prepping smoke houses, checking gear, and longer days can only mean one thing…
salmon season is upon us! 
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While we truly hope this year is better than last, the pre-season forecasts are not looking up.

Our wild salmon stocks here on the Salmon Coast are struggling - and the three rivers that have historically produced 80% of Southeast Alaska’s king salmon - the Taku, Stikine, and Unuk Rivers - will likely be listed as stocks of concern by Alaska’s Department of Fish and Game (ADFG).  Additionally, federal managers expect the Stikine subsistence sockeye fishery may be cut short due to low forecasts, and the Ketchikan salmon derby has been cancelled due to concerns for low king returns.

The Taku, Stikine, and Unuk need your voices!
​On Wednesday, May 19th - show up on behalf of the coastal communities that are at risk of losing everything - and who have not been adequately represented in the fight to defend and sustain our rivers, jobs, and way of life. The State of Alaska has scheduled its first public presentation on this issue during the Dunleavy administration to take place (virtually) with the Province of British Columbia on Wednesday, May 19th at 2:00 PM AKST.
Registration link for the event is here.

If you’re interested in learning more - or would like to discuss some ideas for questions to ask during the presentation - please reach out to Salmon Beyond Borders directly: salmonbeyondborders@gmail.com. And while we’re at it, here is a summary of recent events...

Top Three Updates on AK-BC Transboundary Salmon Rivers

1. Concern over low wild salmon numbers is growing in Southeast Alaska and Northwest British Columbia. 
   - May 11, 2021 KRBD – Ketchikan king salmon derby canceled due to concern over wild fish stocks 
   - April 8, KSTK — Low forecast could mean early Stikine sockeye subsistence closure, federal managers say 
   - November 2, 2020, KFSK – More salmon stock listings recommended for SE AK 
   - March 8, KSTK -- Board of Fish bumps back meeting schedule citing cost concerns, public outcry
   
   
2. A wide variety of groups decried a “smoke and mirrors” report from the State of Alaska and the Province of B.C. ending a water quality program too soon. 
   - March 4, The Narwhal — ‘Smoke and mirrors’: Indigenous groups, conservationists challenge report claiming B.C. mines have no impact on Alaska waters 
   - March 2, Anchorage Daily News — Southeast tribes and fishermen angry over halt to Alaska-Canada water analysis 
   - March 1, CoastAlaska — Tribes, fishermen decry Alaska and B.C. decision to end transboundary monitoring
   
   
3. At the end of April, Salmon Beyond Borders teamed up with Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (SEITC), Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, and United Fishermen of Alaska to update the Alaska House Fisheries Committee with what is going on in our transboundary rivers. Some of the biggest news shared at the event: the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has forwarded SEITC’s human rights petition to the federal government of Canada, and Canada has less than four months to respond.
   -  May 3, CoastAlaska — Human rights panel to weigh transboundary mining concerns

    
Tribes, Commercial fishermen, sport fishermen, business owners, tour operators, and thousands of hard-working Alaskans continue to work together with our congressional delegation, legislators, and municipal leaders toward binding international solutions that will defend and sustain our wild salmon rivers for generations to come. 

As always, thank you for your continued engagement and support, we’re all in this together.

The Salmon Beyond Borders team
Jill, Bre, Heather, and Mary Catharine

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