OPINION: Thanks to the foresight of past Alaska leaders, sustainable salmon runs continue

With the summer fishing season moving into full swing, the excitement throughout our communities is palpable. As the mayors of Kodiak, Cordova, Juneau, Ketchikan, and Valdez, we appreciate the long hours of daylight that summer brings, as well as the harvest of salmon that provides for our families, our communities, and makes up a bedrock of our shared cultures. For generations, salmon have been a cornerstone of our way of life. It’s a precious resource that sustains not only food security but also our local economies. For that, we are so thankful and take stewardship of the waters surrounding us. This year, as we gear up for the season, we’d like to take a moment to recognize that the success of our salmon fishing season today is more than good luck — it’s in large part thanks to Alaska’s private nonprofit hatchery program, which was established more than a generation ago.

There’s real beauty in the history and planning that took place in the 1970s and ′80s, when salmon runs were struggling far more statewide than they are now. A dire situation required a dramatic solution, but also a sustainable one. That’s when Alaska’s hatcheries were founded. The founders of this program were able to take an already robust natural resource (even one that was at a low ebb at the time) and fit the solution into the existing system of fisheries management and enhancement. It’s been nearly 50 years since the hatchery program was established in 1974, and we see not only what the hatcheries have done for our own communities, but other states and countries are looking to Alaska’s hatcheries as a model as well.

We are proud of all the fishermen who call our communities home, especially as they work hard to carry on the legacy of responsible fishing throughout our waters. Alaska has some of the most sustainably managed fisheries in the world — and our hatcheries play a large role in ensuring that continues. That’s why people come from all over the world to our state — to fish, yes, but also to learn about how to implement and use Alaska’s model to serve their own waters, rivers, and communities back home. Year after year, hatchery salmon production ensures that there are enough salmon to meet the commercial, sport, personal use and subsistence needs across our communities, and also to mitigate the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification on natural salmon, which are increasingly threatening wild salmon populations.

As leaders in our communities, we know how deeply Alaskans rely on wild salmon runs throughout our state, and it’s impossible not to recognize the important role hatcheries play in supplementing – not replacing – wild stocks. Throughout coastal Alaska, our hatcheries generate important tax revenue for our local governments, including raw fish and business taxes that are used to fund education and civic needs. Hatcheries also support employment opportunities throughout our communities, both in the hatcheries operations themselves as well as in commercial fishing, seafood processing, and other facets of the seafood industry.

The story of Alaska’s hatcheries is one of economic empowerment, community innovation, and public-private partnership, resilience, and respect for the natural process all around us. Our communities would not be where we are today — culturally or economically — had the state failed to establish this sustainable, well-managed program to enhance Alaska’s fisheries nearly 50 years ago. This summer, as we push off for another fishing season, we are thankful for the foresight and leadership of great Alaskans and are optimistic for the success of the program for generations to come.

Pat Branson is mayor of the city of Kodiak; David Allison is mayor of Cordova; Beth Weldon is mayor of the city and borough of Juneau; David Kiffer is mayor of the city of Ketchikan; and Sharon Scheidt is mayor of the city of Valdez.

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