Alaska Fishermen Struggle As King Salmon Population Declines

Seward: In his Alaskan community, King Salmon is becoming increasingly rare, says fisherman Bob Candopoulos, who blames massive trawlers scouring the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea for contributing to the decline in king salmon runs. Indigenous communities along the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers have banned salmon fishing for years.But science points to another culprit: climate change. Research from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows the decline in Chinook (king) salmon primarily stems from marine heatwaves in the Bering Sea, which renders the waters uninhabitable for the fish's prey.Brett Watson, a natural resource economist at the University of Alaska Anchorage, said a trawling ban would have "unclear" impacts on salmon runs. "Climate change has been identified as probably a larger contributor to the declines of salmon runs in on the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers," he told news agency AFP. In a state where residents receive an annual dividend from oil production, commercial fisherman Ian Raab laments that politicians squabble over trawlers while failing to mention the impacts of climate change. Raab pivoted from salmon years ago, and instead prioritises catching halibut and sablefish.