Tutka Bay hatchery can be a resource for generations to come

As the City Manager of Whittier, I have the privilege of working hard to serve the people of my city and the critical port we operate for the region. Every day, I’m driven by the goal of ensuring that Whittier is the best place possible for the people who choose to live here, and the flow of commerce that relies on our strategic location and infrastructure. Although the residents of Whittier come from a wide variety of walks of life, everyone here knows that salmon and access to fisheries are central to the economic health of our community.

Here in Whittier, fisheries are second only to tourism in economic impact. Without the positive contributions from hatcheries across our region, most notably the Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association’s Tutka Bay Lagoon Hatchery for communities and users just south of Whittier, and Prince William Sound Aquaculture Corporation for users in and to the east of Whittier, our fisheries sector and the local economy would face a critical setback. Since its inception in 1975, the Tutka Bay Lagoon Hatchery has provided a sustainable wild salmon population that supports sport, subsistence, personal use, and commercial fisheries across Southcentral Alaska. Each year in Whittier alone, which ranks fifth in Alaska for hatchery sport harvests, we catch an average of more than 7,000 hatchery-produced coho.

We know the measurable contributions that Tutka Bay hatchery makes to the success of our charter boats, guides and commercial fishing vessels. However, there is no way to put a price tag on filling our freezers and providing lifetimes of memories out fishing in Prince William Sound and in nearby waters south of here like Kachemak or Resurrection Bay. Whether it is a tourist from out-of-state on a sportfishing charter, or an elementary school student catching their first salmon off the pier, I am grateful for the incredible harvest and economic opportunities that our local hatcheries provide.

Recently — along with the collective voices of several hundred Alaskans and stakeholders — the City of Whittier wrote to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources encouraging them to allow operations at the Tutka Bay Lagoon Hatchery to continue. The Department recently considered a regulatory change that threatens to shut down the hatchery altogether. Although we are on the edge of Prince William Sound, hours away by car or boat from Kachemak Bay, the Tutka hatchery’s impact is felt far and wide, from Kachemak Bay to Resurrection Bay and into the northern Gulf. Closure of the hatchery would be devastating for all user groups.

The City of Whitter stands united with Alaskans and stakeholders across the Kenai Peninsula in urging the Department of Natural Resources to allow continued operations at the Tutka Bay Lagoon Hatchery. It is the right thing to do for Alaskans today and the right thing to do for future generations.

Jim Hunt has nearly 10 years of fisheries and processing experience working from an economic development and stability standpoint, acting as the current City Manager of Whittier and as the former City Manager of Seward.

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