President’s Message: Salmon Advocacy

Andrew Guy, President and CEO

Storyknife, July/August 2023 edition

Andrew Guy, Calista Corp. President/CEO

After decades of decline culminating in four disastrous Y-K salmon runs in a row, it is beyond obvious that our fishery management system has failed us.

It would be easier to fix if there was one culprit. Instead, we have many, including trawler bycatch, the Area M fishery, increasing competition from hatchery salmon, parasitic infections, and major ecosystem changes in the ocean and our rivers.

The declining returns and reduced fishing opportunities are causing existential harm to the people and wildlife dependent on Y-K salmon runs. This is unacceptable.

At Calista, we have a shared goal with fellow Y-K organizations to get more fish back in the rivers. It is daunting to realize that if we fix only one problem, it may not be enough to save our fisheries.

Our approach is to look at multiple factors for the salmon collapse and address them systematically, and at every level possible.

Some issues, like climate change and warming oceans and rivers, are beyond our control. But we can fix structural defects in state and federal law and regulations, advocate to our state and federal fishery boards, use the court system if necessary, and secure more subsistence voices at the table where decisions are made for our fisheries.

Strategically, one of the most impactful single actions is to end the interception of our chum salmon by the Area M fishery.

Our approach is to look at multiple factors for the salmon collapse and address them systematically, and at every level possible.

The math is clear. In 2021, Area M fishermen intercepted 690,000 Y-K chum whereas trawler bycatch took 51,000. In 2020, Area M fishermen took 290,000 Y-K chum whereas trawler bycatch took 30,000.

Bycatch numbers are nothing to scoff at when people are going hungry, but it is important
to prioritize and address the largest causes of mortality.

We’re encouraged to see that some political leaders would like to revisit Area M management and are paying closer attention to the billions of hatchery salmon competing with our wild stocks for scarce food resources in the ocean.

As we saw at the Alaska Board of Fisheries meetings earlier this year, testimony is not enough. We need adequate rural representation on boards and commissions that control the fisheries, including the Board of Fisheries and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

We are lobbying for the appointment of our Shareholders and Y-K community leaders on statewide and national boards. Recently, Calista’s Curt Chamberlain was appointed to a four-year seat on the U.S. advisory panel for the international North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission. This is not a decision-making role, but it is an opportunity to tell our story to an international body involved in salmon conservation and opens the door for future appointments.

Fish is our life, and we will always fight for our right to subsist.

Subsistence dry fish hanging in Umkumiute.

We are continuing our search for Shareholders to step into leadership roles for fisheries management and encourage anyone interested in getting involved to reach out to: govrelations@calistacorp.com.