It's a victory for troll fishermen and fishery management agencies who argued such a closure was unnecessary and economically ruinous. It's a loss for the Wild Fish Conservancy, which contends the fishery is starving endangered killer whales of a key food source.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals order overrules a Seattle judge's order that could have closed the summer and winter troll fisheries.
The 9th Circuit order likely means the summer troll fishery will open as usual on July 1.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game wastes no time announcing the summer troll fishery is a go:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/applications/dcfnewsrelease/1485929913.pdf
Alaska's governor, attorney general, and fish and game commissioner rejoice in this press release:
ReplyDeletehttps://law.alaska.gov/press/releases/2023/062123-FishIsOn.html
The Alaska Trollers Association declares: "We fish!"
ReplyDeletehttp://www.aktrollers.org/2023/06/21/we-fish/
Here's the Wild Fish Conservancy's reaction to the the 9th Circuit order:
ReplyDeletehttps://wildfishconservancy.org/court-rules-in-favor-of-short-term-economics-over-endangered-species-protections-for-southern-resident-killer-whales-and-wild-chinook/