A massive study of salmon genetics undertaken in Alaska over the last six years is notable both for its sheer scientific scope and for the diverse group of people and organizations it brought together on matters of genetics, fisheries management, and food:
Some background… the Western Alaska Salmon Stock Identification Project (WASSIP) was created in 2006 by a group of eleven signers to a memorandum of understanding including Aleut Corporation, Aleutians East Borough, Association of Village Council Presidents, Bering Sea Fishermen’s Association, Bristol Bay Native Association, Concerned Area M Fishermen, Kawerak, Lake and Peninsula Borough, Tanana Chiefs Conference, Yukon River Drainage Fisheries Association and Alaska Department of Fish and Game
The mission: to sample commercial and subsistence chum and sockeye salmon fisheries from Chignik to Kotzebue. The goal: to gain a better understanding of the origins and composition of harvests in westward fisheries, and the effects that these fisheries have on salmon stocks across the vast region. The driving issue: identifying the origins of chum salmon migrating through Alaska Peninsula waters to Western regions.
The WASSIP reports are to be released on November 19.
View the original article here: Salmon genetics study to be released
