Southeast Alaska Chinook Salmon Fishery Mitigation Program
2024 Request for Proposals

We are pleased to announce a 2024 Call for Proposals related to Hatchery Enhancement in Southeast Alaska.

The Southeast Alaska Chinook Salmon Fishery Mitigation Program was established in 2009 to alleviate economic impacts of the 15% reduction in Chinook salmon harvest levels under the 2009 revision of the Treaty. This program continues to be necessary due to an additional 7.5% reduction in Chinook harvest levels under the 2019 revision to the Treaty. Alaska's willingness to accept another loss to Chinook fisheries was predicated, in part, on a mitigation package to offset economic consequences.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) is the State entity that administers program funds and is advised by a Stakeholder Panel of representatives from sport, troll, gillnet, and seine fisheries, hatchery operators, and local communities. The Stakeholder Panel has identified program components related to hatchery enhancement that would provide economic benefits to offset the losses to Treaty harvest shares. The contributions of hatchery raised Chinook and coho salmon are important to the "hook and line" fisheries, including commercial troll and sport fisheries, most affected by the reduction in Treaty harvests. Alaska hatchery-produced Chinook provide significant benefits because they may be harvested in addition to the annual Chinook harvest limit set under the Treaty.

• We anticipate $615,000 may be available to support Hatchery Enhancement and Research projects (PDF 235 kB) related to increasing and/or optimizing hatchery production within existing hatchery facilities from FY 2024 congressional appropriations (once there is a federal budget). Alaska is interested in replacing as much of the 7.5% reduction taken in the 2019 Pacific Salmon Treaty agreement as possible with increased hatchery production.