Op-Ed: Lawsuit could impact Whatcom County marine businesses

Blaming Alaska’s troll fishery for the SRKW’s decline might sound like an easy solution, but the reality is not that simple – nor does it follow the well-documented science pointing to the habitat loss and degradation, toxic water pollution and dams in the pacific northwest that are harming our local salmon populations, and with them, the SRKW.

Just last month, Washington state released its State of Salmon in Watersheds 2022 report that provides a sobering snapshot of the status of Washington’s salmon populations and the pressures feeding their decline. The report reinforces the major impact that habitat loss (much of it driven by Washington’s booming population) is having on Washington’s salmon, with one-third of Puget Sound’s 2,500 mile shoreline lost due to armoring and 50 to 90 percent of land along Washington waterways lost or greatly modified by humans. The report leaves no doubt that the way to bring back Washington’s Chinook is by addressing these issues in our own backyard.

Currently, 115 southeast Alaska troll fishery permit holders live in Washington and migrate to Alaska each summer to make their income. In addition, there