In Alaska today, the salmon resource picture is bright, but Alaska salmon fishermen haven’t always been so fortunate. From the beginning of the salmon rush in the 1880s until the passage of the statehood act in 1959, the resources of the Alaska territory were managed by absentee landlords who made their decisions thousands of miles away, in Washington, D.C. Some would say they were mismanaged and that the cartels and conglomerates that comprised the Alaska salmon canning industry wielded the real power over Alaska salmon.
The Statehood Act of 1959 was largely a referendum on the presence of fish traps in Alaskan waters, and on the question of who should manage the state’s salmon resource and profit from the salmon harvest. Adopted by an overwhelming majority, Alaska’s constitution is unique. It made salmon conservation a constitutional priority and outlawed the traps. What happened next has been a tribute to modern resource management, to Alaska’s unspoiled habitat and to one of nature’s most robust animals. See a fascinating aspect of the story in this excerpt from John Sabella’s documentary Neets Bay, An Alaska Salmon Ranch. For more information follow this link: https://www.johnsabella.com/detail.la…