Assembly voices opposition to potential endangered species listing of king salmon

The Petersburg Borough Assembly has taken a stance against the potential listing of Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon as a threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Assembly members voted unanimously to send a letter of opposition to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in response to a petition from the Wild Fish Conservancy, an environmental group based in Washington state, which requested the ESA listing and designation of critical habitat of any GOA Chinook subpopulations.

Noting a downturn in Chinook productivity and evidence of decreasing size and age a...