Send sustainable seafood verifiers a message about 'Alaskan' salmon
Fishers in Southeast Alaska net hundreds of thousands of Canadian sockeye, steelhead, chinook, chum, and pink salmon every year — many from critically endangered populations. In 2022, fishers in Southeast Alaska took 2.1 million of our salmon as they swam past Alaska on their way home, all while Canadian fisheries were closed to rebuild dwindling stocks.
Wild salmon are part of who we are and are especially vital for Indigenous communities. Dwindling salmon stocks also affect our ecosystems, starving our bears, eagles and other wildlife. A U.S. federal judge recently ruled that Southeast Alaska's Chinook Troll Fishery violates the Endangered Species Act by depriving Southern Resident Killer Whales of critical prey. But other commercial fleets in Southeast Alaska continue their plunder of B.C. salmon unchecked.
Seafood certification organizations like Marine Stewardship Council and Ocean Wise have maintained their 'sustainable' certification for Alaskan seafood. But fisheries that survive by taking another country’s endangered fish are about as far from sustainable as you can get.
When seafood is labelled 'sustainable,' consumers expect it to be
Canadians rely on organizations like Ocean Wise and Marine Stewardship Council to help us choose sustainable seafood options, but when certification organizations are letting some fisheries slip by, it’s hard to know which options are right for our families.
Tell Marine Stewardship Council and Ocean Wise to decertify Southeast Alaska's salmon fisheries until they are truly sustainable, and when you can, reconsider your purchase of any Alaskan seafood until their fishing fleet in the Southeast stops intercepting and killing so many endangered Canadian salmon.
Send your letter now, then check your email for some tips on where you can buy sustainably caught salmon.