The U.S. district judge in Washington state has approved a controversial decision that could stop summer trolling for King salmon Southeast Alaska this summer.
A judge named Richard A. Jones signed the two-page ruling on Tuesday. The order demands that the National Marine Fisheries Service to correct a violation of Endangered Species Act concerning a threatened killer whale population within Puget Sound.
The ruling also invalidates the “Incidental Take Statement” that governs how it was stated that the National Marine Fisheries Service manages the commercial harvest of Chinook salmon that is harvested in Southeast Alaska during the summer.
The Wild Fish Conservancy brought suit with the National Marine Fisheries Service in March of 2020. contending that the government was unable to properly address the negative impact of Alaskan King salmon harvests on killer whales in the southern region which have declined to a pathetically low level.
In a press release in which the Alaska Trollers Association — which intervened in the case in behalf of NMFS It says that it will collaborate together with State of Alaska to appeal the decision in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and will likely seek a stay of the decision.
Director Amy Daugherty wrote, “The ATA will continue to fight for the right of life for its members as well as the community in Southeast Alaska.”
