An Alaska fishery has been pitted against orcas. Can both survive?

July 1, 2023 at 6:00 am Updated July 1, 2023 at 6:00 am

By Isabella Breda

Seattle Times staff reporter

In early May a Seattle federal judge put the brakes on this summer’s troll fishery in Southeast Alaska, ruling that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration must amend its 2019 report on the impact of the fishing on endangered southern resident orcas who prefer to eat the same Chinook. But the ruling was put on hold last month by a U.S. appeals court, which allowed the fishery to reopen, citing economic harm.