April 22, 2024 — The Secretary of Commerce determined that a commercial fishery failure due to a fishery resource disaster occurred in these 2021 and 2022 salmon fisheries:
- The Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe’s 2021 Puget Sound fall chum and coho salmon fisheries
- The 2022 Kuskokwim River salmon fishery
- The 2021 and 2022 Upper Cook Inlet East Side setnet salmon fishery
The determination is in response to requests from the late Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe Chairman Jeromy Sullivan and Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy.
Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo, working with NOAA Fisheries, evaluates each fishery resource disaster request based primarily on data submitted by the requesting official. A fishery resource disaster determination must meet specific requirements under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. For example, there must be economic impacts and an unexpected large decrease in fish stock biomass or other change. These impacts result in significant loss of access to the fishery resource resulting from specific allowable causes due to the fishery resource disaster event.
This positive determination makes these fisheries eligible for disaster assistance from NOAA Fisher. Fishery participants may also qualify for disaster assistance from the Small Business Administration. The Department of Commerce has fishery disaster assistance funding available and soon will determine the appropriate allocation for these disasters.