Fraser River Sockeye Salmon Disaster

A commercial fishery failure (disaster) has been declared for the Fraser River sockeye salmon fishery in Washington State.

According to NOAA Fisheries, the fishery disaster was caused by the low return of sockeye salmon to the Fraser River, resulting in a subsequent closure of the fishery for the 2013 fishing season. The closure resulted in revenue losses of nearly 97 percent for tribal and non-tribal fishermen.

"The sockeye salmon fishery isn’t just economically significant for the state of Washington – it’s inextricably linked to its history and culture," said Secretary Pritzker. "Because returns of sockeye salmon were so low and caused significant losses of revenues, the fishery qualified as a resource disaster under the nation’s fishing law."

source: NOAA Fisheries