Alaska to Keep Its Cap for Salmon Harvest

Chinook salmon off southeast Alaska are plentiful, so there is no reason to reduce the harvest below the 230,000-fish cap set earlier this year despite Canadian pleas, Alaska officials said Friday.

Commercial fishing of the prized salmon species will resume this weekend off the state’s southeastern panhandle, Alaska Department of Fish and Game officials said.

The department released results from its tests on chinook abundance, which concluded that fish numbers are higher than preseason forecasts. The tests show that commercial and sport fishermen in southeastern Alaska could catch up to 251,000 chinook salmon without jeopardizing the stocks, the department said.

The Alaska harvest has been protested by Canadian officials, who say Alaskans are catching too many Canada-spawned chinook. They say the southeast Alaska harvest should be only about half the 230,000-fish cap.

David Benton, Alaska’s deputy Fish and Game commissioner, conceded that the Canadians may be unhappy with the state decision announced Friday, but said he hoped long-term negotiations with Canada would continue.