OPINION: We’re working to find the causes of Yukon salmon declines

In the Washington Post piece republished in the Anchorage Daily News, “There’s a crisis in the Yukon River,” the authors correctly wrote about the devastation caused by the crash of salmon on the Yukon and other rivers in Alaska. The piece notes the spiritual and cultural loss that many predominantly Alaska Native communities are experiencing as a result of these salmon crashes.

I want Alaskans to know that in Washington, D.C., we are very focused on this important issue and trying to get to the bottom of what is happening to salmon during their lifecycle and what is impacting salmon survival and healthy returns for spawning. That’s why, working with Alaskans, I wrote and was able to pass the Alaska Salmon Research Task Force Act, which was signed into law last year. This legislation is bringing the best minds from across the state — Alaska Natives, scientists, state, federal and university officials, and fishermen who spend much of their lives at sea — to figure out exactly what is happening with our salmon returns. Nineteen members of the new Alaska Salmon Research Task Force have been appointed and are currently working hard to bring their expertise together into a report that I hope to bring to both Congress and the administration to leverage funding and support for the important work we need to be doing on salmon in Alaska.

Critically, the Research Task Force has also formed a 29-member working group from the Yukon and Kuskokwim River regions of Western and Interior Alaska, specifically focused on king and chum salmon returns in their rivers.

Why does this gap in knowledge about our salmon exist? Much of NOAA’s fisheries research efforts are informed by the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council, which places a high priority on research for stocks they manage that have seen high levels of variability including crab and cod. In the meantime, gaps in our fisheries knowledge, particularly with regard to salmon research, are getting bigger.

For years, much of the federal support for salmon has been funneled toward habitat restoration in Washington state and Endangered Species Act-listed stocks in the Pacific Northwest. I have emphasized repeatedly with senior Commerce Department and NOAA officials that while that work is important, supporting healthy salmon returns before they reach such a depleted, endangered status is critical and a much more cost-effective approach. Alaska has nearly pristine, healthy habitat and the challenges our salmon face out in the ocean are fundamentally different, although no less culturally important, than those in the Pacific Northwest.

Like many of you, this issue is personal to me. At our Yukon River fish camp, which has been in the family of my wife, Julie, for generations, we’ve seen firsthand the devastating impact that the decline in king and chum salmon has had on the culture, spirit and food security of the great people who live on our vital Alaska rivers. Knowing this, I wrote the Alaska Salmon Research Task Force Act to identify and address these critical research prioritization gaps with the best minds Alaska and the nation have to offer. It is only with this knowledge that we can take clear, intentional action to support not only healthy salmon returns, but also our Alaskan and Native cultures which are inextricably intertwined with these incredible fish. It’s past time to get to work so that we can better understand the causes of these declines and how we can best support healthy salmon returns for future generations.

Sen. Dan Sullivan has represented Alaska in the U.S. Senate since he was first elected in 2014.

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