Recorded at the April 2022 Alaska Press Club Conference.

Fisheries in Alaska are changing, and fast. For reporters across Alaska trying to keep up with the vital industry, fishing experts spoke at the 2022 Alaska Press Club conference to help journalists tell these stories. The three panelists include Andy Wink, executive director of Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association; Mary Peltola, Executive Director of Kuskokwim River Intertribal Fish Commission; and Luke Fanning the CEO of Aleutian Pribilof Island Community Development Association.
The panelists outlined some general tips to keep in mind: embrace the complexity of environmental factors, investigate trends and explore relationships between species.

Here’s what panelist Andy Wink wants reporters to know about Bristol Bay and the issues the fishery is facing: There have been huge forecasts for the number of salmon available to harvest, which means a multimillion dollar harvest for fishers. There’s also a labor crunch in the region, with a large need for processors and other workers to help the fishery run smoothly. He says he’d love reporters to ask more about how fishery managers count fish, and how that’s changed over time. He said progress has been made, but there are still areas where managers can improve. When it comes to Nushagak king salmon specifically, he said managers know there’s progress to be made in how they’re counted.

“We’re getting better and better data about how many sockeye are coming into the bay, and that’s really exciting,” he said. “It gives fishermen a chance to make sure they’re in front of those fish to catch them and it gives processors more of a heads up – it also gives fishery managers a sense of what’s headed toward their district so they can manage escapement better.”

Mary Peltola put an emphasis on understanding Alaska’s five unique species, noting they’re all very different and have their own stories – all over the state. Her fishing work is on the Kuskokwim River, where the largest subsistence harvest in the world takes place. But chinook salmon has been declining on the river over the last decade and chum salmon has seriously declined over the last few years, which has caused the management of the river to be federalized – a move made possible by ANILCA.

“We’re really fighting over crumbs,” she said in the presentation. “We feel these depressed subsistence stocks are kind of like the best kept secret in Alaska, or people know about it, but they don’t understand the true food security issues we’re facing.”

Peltola said she likes it when journalists ask questions about traditional knowledge and ecological knowledge, and how those are used during the fishing season. That knowledge is evolving though, she said, and it’s something continually used.

“I think there’s a misperception about traditional and ecological knowledge that it’s very old, past history,” she said.

Luke Fanning, whose program works to help and support economic development in rural Alaska through fishing in Western Alaska, highlighted fisheries research that the company helps fund and is available to Alaska Fish and Game. He said it would be imperative for reporters to understand and focus on the factors affecting salmon runs, and other runs. He said it’s important to understand the biology of the fish and where they are most vulnerable in terms of their life cycle.

Areas that could use more coverage

The panelists laid out underreported narratives they’ve noticed in the fishing industry. Fanning said focusing on the weather and climate issues that are to come will be important for reporters to pay attention to, as well as the genetic makeup of the fish, which can help tell the story of the relationships between salmon and where they come from, as well as where they’re headed. Peltola said hatchery pink salmon doesn’t get talked about enough. She also said that globally, fish size is shrinking, which is something that’s been seen in Alaska king salmon. A lack of snowpack is also having implications on a number of species, including, possibly, salmon. Wink has been curious to know how arrowtooth flounder abundance is impacting halibut.

Advice for journalists

The panelists outlined some mistakes they see from Alaska reporters and how to address them. Fanning said it’s important for reporters to take the time to understand the relationships between the biology, the industry and affected communities. Wink said it can sometimes be difficult for reporters to fully grasp the value of the Bristol Bay fishery.

“Just making sure you’re aware of that dynamic in the bay is important, to help people understand what the fish is actually worth,” he said.

Peltola said pronunciations are important to pay attention to – making sure to pronounce village and other names correctly. She also said journalists can over complicate the fisheries reporting they do.

“For complex issues, you need simple solutions,” she said.

To learn more, the recording of the panel is available to watch at the top of the article.