Thursday, June 10, Bristol Bay leaders and fisheries experts will discuss the region’s salmon season and the urgent need for the Environmental Protection Agency to protect its world-class resource. A press conference will be held virtually and in Dillingham starting at 1 p.m. Alaska time, 5 p.m. Eastern.
The public is invited to watch the event via a Facebook Live stream at www.facebook.com/UnitedTribesBB or by calling into a public teleconference at 1-800-201-7439 pin: 205347.
Bristol Bay is once again expected to produce more than half the world’s supply of wild sockeye salmon this summer, but the subsistence, sport and commercial fisheries that sustain local communities and cultures, provide recreational opportunities for thousands, and feed the world, still face an urgent and existential threat.
Pebble’s permit denial in November 2020 provides no long-term security: The company’s appeal leaves Bristol Bay communities living in uncertainty today, mining claims remain in the region, and another permit could be submitted at any time. Pebble and other large-scale hard-rock mines threaten to destroy thousands of acres of wetlands of pristine habitat and an essential salmon watershed. Despite more than two decades of local advocacy for safeguards to prevent such destruction, the threat of Pebble still looms over Bristol Bay as the annual return of wild salmon begins.
Regional fisheries and community leaders will provide critical updates on the threat to Bristol Bay, outline the unified regional vision for protections and the breadth of support for this proposal. They will once again call on EPA, Congress and the state of Alaska to take action.
Speakers:
Alannah Hurley, Executive Director, United Tribes of Bristol Bay
Fritz Johnson, Vice President, Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association
Jason Metrokin, President and CEO, Bristol Bay Native Corp.
Nanci Morris-Lyon, Owner, Bristol Bay Lodge
Dr. Daniel Schindler, Professor, UW School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences
Robin Samuelsen, Chairman, Bristol Bay Economic Development Corp.
