User groups must band together to help kings

User groups must band together to help kings

Regarding the article “Kings need our help” that ran in the Anchorage Daily News, 7/26/18.

In his letter Mr. Fjelstad says 1.5 billion hatchery pinks will result in lower returns of red and king salmon.

First of all red and king salmon don’t even eat the same food as pink salmon. And secondly, silvers, chums and kings, being three, four and five year returning species, move much deeper and further out into the Gulf of Alaska’s upwelling than do pink salmon and reds. Kings being much larger and containing more fat are able to move well into the Pacific becoming vulnerable to multinational trawler fleets whose record of violation of international fishery law is well documented.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

As well, we have the U.S. trawlers with their alleged incidental catch records. The answer to the king problem is the same as with all other salmon species whose numbers come in at lower counts each year. For the sport fish lobby to suggest denying ay other user group their constitutional right of access to a common resource will put the sport and commercial user groups right where the politically powerful international packing corporations want them — at each others’ throats. Closing any king salmon fishery to any user group will only enhance the harvest levels of king, silver and chum salmon for the foreign fleets. So all user groups of the above mentioned species must now be prudent enough to move the federal court for declaratory judgment against joint foreign and U.S. packing companies as well as to enjoin the North Pacific Fishery Management Council as third-party defendant for criminal acts in the management of U.S. fishery resources.

Anything less at this point in time will lead to the eventual loss of all of the above salmon species, coast-wide, in little more than a decade.

As Mr Fjelstad stated in his letter, “I don’t think future generations would appreciate or understand why we allowed Alaska’s king salmon populations to be decimated.”

John A. Anderson

Kenai

More in Opinion

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: Life is harder when you outlive your support group

Long-time friends are more important than ever to help us cope, to remind us we are not alone and that others feel the same way.

A silver salmon is weighed at Three Bears in Kenai, Alaska. Evelyn McCoy, customer service PIC at Three Bears, looks on. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Opinion: Will coho salmon be the next to disappear in the Kenai River?

Did we not learn anything from the disappearance of the kings from the Kenai River?

Jonathan Flora is a lifelong commercial fisherman and dockworker from Homer, Alaska.
Point of View: Not fishing for favors — Alaskans need basic health care access

We ask our elected officials to oppose this bill that puts our health and livelihoods in danger.

Alex Koplin. (courtesy photo)
Opinion: Public schools do much more than just teach the three Rs

Isn’t it worth spending the money to provide a quality education for each student that enters our schools?

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks to reporters at the Alaska State Capitol on Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Letter to the Editor: Law enforcement officers helped ensure smooth, secure energy conference

Their visible commitment to public safety allowed attendees to focus fully on collaboration, learning, and the important conversations shaping our path forward.

Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire file photo
The present-day KTOO public broadcasting building, built in 1959 for the U.S. Army’s Alaska Communications System Signal Corps, is located on filled tidelands near Juneau’s subport. Today vehicles on Egan Drive pass by the concrete structure with satellite dishes on the roof that receive signals from NPR, PBS and other sources.
My Turn: Stand for the community radio, not culture war optics

Alaskans are different and we pride ourselves on that. If my vehicle… Continue reading

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) delivers his annual speech to the Alaska Legislature on Thursday, March 20, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: Sullivan, Trump and the rule of lawlessness

In September 2023, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan established his own Alaska Federal… Continue reading

UAA Provost Denise Runge photographed outside the Administration and Humanities Building at the University of Alaskas Anchorage. (courtesy photo)
Opinion: UAA’s College of Health — Empowering Alaska’s future, one nurse at a time

At the University of Alaska Anchorage, we understand the health of our… Continue reading

U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III, R-Alaska, address a joint session of the Alaska Legislature on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: A noncongressman for Alaska?

It’s right to ask whether Nick Begich is a noncongressman for Alaska.… Continue reading

Boats return to the Homer Harbor at the end of the fishing period for the 30th annual Winter King Salmon Tournament on Saturday, March 23, 2024 in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Opinion: Funding sustainable fisheries

Spring is always a busy season for Alaska’s fishermen and fishing communities.… Continue reading

Gov. Mike Dunleavy holds a press conference on Monday, May 19, 2025, to discuss his decision to veto an education bill. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: On fiscal policy, Dunleavy is a governor in name only

His fiscal credibility is so close to zero that lawmakers have no reason to take him seriously.

You're browsing in private mode.
Please sign in or subscribe to continue reading articles in this mode.

Peninsula Clarion relies on subscription revenue to provide local content for our readers.

Subscribe

Already a subscriber? Please sign in