Salmon Research
Dear Editor: The following is a letter Sitka Sound Science Center wrote to NOAA’s chief science adviser. I encourage others in Sitka concerned about salmon research to send an email to cisco.werner@noaa.gov, as well as Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s office jamie_o’connor@murkowski.senate.gov and Sen. Sullivan’s office Carina_Nichols@sullivan.senate.gov
Dear Dr. Werner: I write to you today about the status of NOAA’s efforts to study salmon in Alaska. Salmon are of paramount cultural and commercial value to Alaskans and access to salmon is important for maintaining food security throughout the state. Despite repeated warnings from the scientific community that climate change has made the science of predicting salmon abundance and behavior more uncertain and that more monitoring and research are warranted, NOAA has been systematically dismantling its salmon research programs.
NOAA has a long history of conducting salmon research in Alaska, beginning with the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries’ efforts to manage salmon populations prior to statehood. At one point NOAA had a Fishery Science Center located in Alaska and a network of field stations whose primary role was to study salmon. Today, we are aware of only a few piecemeal efforts surviving to study salmon in Alaska, none of which are directed at important questions such as the decline of AYK Chinook, why salmon sizes-at-age are in decline and how marine predators and ocean conditions are affecting marine survival rates. Alaska and the NPFMC are the stewards of vast marine ecosystems where salmon from the Pacific Northwest, Canada, Alaska and Far East play key roles in ecosystem function. NOAA needs a detailed accounting of the changes these species are undergoing if it is to succeed in developing a viable program of ecosystem-based fishery management.
NOAA’s recent action to close-out its Chinooksalmon research program at Little Port Walter (LPW) is a prime example of this issue. Last summer the agency unilaterally decided to end the 45-year program without notifying or seeking input from stakeholders. The program was instrumental in developing the Chinook hatchery system in Southeast Alaska and supported the local troll fishery by contributing fish to the common property. More importantly, it played a key role in the hatchery system by developing brood stock for local hatcheries. NOAA’s actions with respect to LPW and its stakeholders signals a lack of commitment to salmon research and the close-out effectively ends a 45-year time series. The role of long time series in detecting ecosystem change cannot be overemphasized. We appreciate that NOAA, like other federal agencies, faces decreasing budgets and increasing responsibilities. However, ending the program without consulting stakeholders is contrary to the aims of transparency and ultimately erodes public trust in the agency.
At a time when the Alaska Congressional delegation is putting forth legislation in Congress to establish an Alaska Salmon Research Task Force, NOAA seems tone deaf to the interests and needs of the people it is intended to serve. NOAA’s decisions with respect to salmon in Alaska appear to be made without a long-term plan to deal with growing issues surrounding salmon.
Therefore, we respectfully ask that NOAA convene a meeting that brings together government, academic, and private researchers along with community and tribal stakeholders to review the state of salmon research throughout Alaska (including Southeast Alaska), identify gaps in our current knowledge, and prioritize issues with salmon. In addition, we request that NOAA produce a salmon research plan for public review and comment. Such a plan should include continued maintenance of long-term data sets and address issues throughout the state including Southeast Alaska.
Lisa Busch, Executive Director
Sitka Sound Science Center
Shee Atiká Resolutions
Dear Editor: Shee Atiká Inc. passed two resolutions at its January board meeting last week. These resolutions are important to our shareholders and to the community of Sitka. The first is a resolution in support of changing the name of Baranof Elementary School. Shee Atiká supports the Sitka Tribe of Alaska recommendation to the Sitka School Board to honor Charlie Joseph Sr. (Kaal.atk’) in the renaming of the school.
Shee Atiká honors our respected founding shareholder with the Charlie Joseph Sr. Cultural and Heritage Award, which is given to a group or individual who strives to preserve the Tlingit lifestyle through living or teaching others our traditional lifeways. Charlie Joseph Sr. changed and enhanced the lives of so many young Sitkans. We can think of no better way to honor a cherished elder and teacher than to name a school after him. Charlie Joseph Sr. received the Governor’s Award for his contributions to Cultural Education, the ANB Grand Camp Award, the Alaska Legislative Award, the Tlingit & Haida Cultural Preservation Award, and Sealaska’s Cultural Preservation Award. We urge our fellow citizens of Sitka to contact the Sitka School Board and support the name change.
The Shee Atiká Board also approved a resolution in support of the Sitka Tribe of Alaska positions on herring management proposals before the Alaska Board of Fisheries at its upcoming meeting in March. Shee Atiká strongly supports the Tribe’s efforts to conserve herring stocks in Sitka Sound and ensure a viable supply of herring eggs for subsistence. We appreciate the Tribe’s leadership on this issue. We encourage our fellow citizens to support the STA positions on herring conservation by submitting comments to the Alaska Board of Fisheries by email, dfg.bof.comments@alaska.gov no later than Feb. 23.
The resolutions passed by the Shee Atiká Board can be found on our website: www.sheeatika.com.
Thank you for helping to strengthen our community.
Rob Allen, Chair,
Shee Atiká Inc. Board of Directors
