Alaska Delegation celebrates Ninth Circuit ruling defending Southeast troll salmon fishery

Senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski, and Representative Mary Sattler Peltola celebrated a recent ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of Southeast Alaska troll fishermen whose ability to fish has been challenged in a lawsuit brought forward by the Washington-based Wild Fish Conservancy (WFC), which attempted to shut down the fishery due to unfounded allegations regarding fishery impacts. The ruling is a welcome legal victory for the Southeast fishermen at the Ninth Circuit. The Alaska congressional delegation has filed two amicus briefs with the Ninth Circuit in support of the fishermen, one in June 2023 urging the court to grant a stay so that the fishermen could proceed with their summer season, and a second in October 2023 on the merits of the case.

“Today, we secured a major victory at the Ninth Circuit for the hundreds of hard-working Alaskans who rely on the Southeast Alaska troll salmon fishery to feed their families and support their communities,” said Senator Sullivan, who called the claims from Washington environmental groups claimed that Alaskan small boats, hook-and-line troll Southeast salmon fishery hundreds of miles away is having more of an impact on the viability of orca whales in the Puget Sound “outrageous” and “ridiculous.”

“It was a ridiculous claim, and the court thankfully recognized it as such. My team and I have been working shoulder-to-shoulder with our fishermen, Southeast communities and tribes, and the State of Alaska on this important battle since this lawsuit was filed in 2020. This ruling gives our Southeast fishermen greater peace of mind, and also demonstrates that, when Alaskans unite and speak with one voice, there is so much we can accomplish in defense of our economy, our unique cultures, and our people.”

“Although we’re not home yet, the most important thing right now is that Southeast Alaska’s troll fishery can continue,” said Senator Murkowski. “This is a critical industry for Southeast Alaska that has minimal impact on the ecosystem, and the congressional delegation, state, tribal groups, and local environmental groups are all united in their advocacy to allow the fishery to resume. I look forward to the National Marine Fisheries Service’s new biological opinion, which I’m hopeful will help put this issue to rest for good.”

“We're not in the clear yet, but this is a big sigh of relief for our fisherman, our fishing families, and our Alaskan economy,” said Representative Peltola. “Trolling is low-impact, and advocacy groups from the state level all the way to environmentalists agree. Let's protect our troll fishermen and industry for good.”

The plaintiff in the case, WFC, argued that the Southeast Alaska salmon harvest is a primary contributor to the population decline of Southern resident killer whales hundreds of miles to the south in Puget Sound. WFC is also petitioning to list King salmon in the Gulf of Alaska as “threatened or endangered” under the Endangered Species Act.

In their amicus brief, the congressional delegation noted that Congress allocated millions of dollars in recent years to support the survival of Southern Resident killer whales.

The State of Alaska and the Alaska Trollers Association are interveners in the lawsuit.