June 25, 2023
By Tim Bristol
Special to The Seattle Times
Wild Fish Conservancy’s lawsuit accusing Southeast Alaska’s troll fishery of harming the southern resident orca population is not only an abuse of the Endangered Species Act, but it will not save Chinook nor those beleaguered orcas. Fishery experts and scientists at the National Marine Fisheries Service and elsewhere have concluded that Southeast Alaska and other Chinook fisheries are not likely to impede the orcas’ recovery. In fact, experts at NMFS say that Wild Fish Conservancy’s theory that Southeast Alaska’s troll fishery is to blame is scientifically weak, outdated and exaggerates fishery impacts. There is overwhelming evidence that other threats are affecting the residents, including pollution, industrial toxins, urbanization and habitat loss; this explains in part why the southern resident population is struggling while Northern and Alaska resident orca populations have doubled since 1980.
Tim Bristol is the executive director of nonprofit advocacy organization SalmonState. He is based in Homer, Alaska.