The most important project the governor. Mike Dunleavy vetoed from the budget for the state on Monday was research to find out the root cause of the chum and chinook crisis in the western part of Alaska.
Dunleavy has vetoed $513,000 of research into the source of salmon caught accidentally during the Bering Sea Pollock fishery as well as the genesis of the salmon caught by fishermen in the Alaska Peninsula in what’s known as “Area M.” Dunleavy rejected the plan last year as well.
“You don’t know what’s going out from these budgets. However, this is a major disappointment, once again,” said Karen Gillis the program director of the Bering Sea Fishermen’s Association. The organization was expected to get the money and transfer it to a consortium made up of scientists from universities and federal agencies.
The veto document stated that the money was cut in order to cut costs. Dunleavy spokesperson Jeff Turner added that the Alaska Department of Fish and Game believed that the study would achieve its goals. The $100,000 would have been allocated towards the University of Washington for overhead.
The results of the research could have implications for policy, and could feed the rage which is already raging within communities on the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers. For the fourth time in consecutive years subsistence salmon fisherman in the region are either shut off or severely limited. Chinook and Chum are returning to these rivers with numbers so small that they’re barely enough to reach escapement goals for the spawning season. Thousands of chinook and chum get taken each season from areas like the Bering Sea as well as Area M fisheries.
Previous research has revealed that just a small portion of the salmon caught was intended for the west Alaska rivers, and that a large portion of the fish coming from Asia. Gillis stated that further research is needed to assist decision-making for management.
“The genetic research that’s been conducted to date has clumped together the Norton Sound, Yukon, Kuskokwim and Bristol Bay stocks into something called ‘coastal Western Alaska”” she explained. “And therefore, what this research involves is studying otoliths from adult salmon to identify their geographical origin or place of birth generally.”
Otoliths, also known as ear bones of salmon have an atomic fingerprint that identifies the freshwater that the fish has been swimming through, which allows scientists to discover not only the part of the Pacific the fish was born on and from which river system.
Gillis has said that the veto of last year put the project on hold However, there is an alternative source of financing.
The governor’s office sent queries regarding the veto towards the Department of Fish & Game and they did not get back at the time required for inclusion in this report.
