February 6, 2023 — Local governments around Southeast Alaska are speaking out against a lawsuit that threatens to shut down trolling for king salmon, also known as Chinook salmon, across the region this year. The lawsuit aims to protect an endangered population of orcas in Washington state.
Ketchikan, Wrangell and Petersburg are set to join a growing chorus of Alaska voices highlighting the impact the suit could have on the region’s fishing fleet.
The lawsuit from the Washington state-based Wild Fish Conservancy centers on an endangered Puget Sound population of orcas known as Southern Resident Killer Whales.
Killer whales eat salmon — especially big, meaty king salmon — and the conservation group argues federal officials haven’t properly accounted for the impact the Southeast king salmon fishery has on the Puget Sound orcas.