Governor Sean Parnell has requested that U.S. Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank to declare a fishery disaster for the Chinook salmon fisheries in the Upper Cook Inlet area, according to an announcement issued on Wednesday.
In a July 14 letter to Secretary Blank requesting fishery disasters declarations for king salmon runs in the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers, Gov. Parnell warned that the Upper Cook Inlet may wind up a disaster as well if the run continued the lackluster way it began. It's now likely finished in the Upper Inlet, Parnell wrote, and it has indeed been awful in 2012. Parnell notes salmon's regional importance:
He adds:
A federal disaster declaration, such as the one Parnell has now requested, will not bring immediate relief. Federal appropriation is first needed before funding can be provided.
Read Gov. Parnell's letter to Secretary Blank as a .pdf file, here.