The Juneau Empire’s Tuesday, March 20 article “Native Corps. bicker over Pebble Mine at meeting” reported a statement that “only 15 percent of Bristol Bay permits are local...”
This statement is not true.
At the end of 2011, local Bristol Bay Alaskans held more than 25 percent of the Bristol Bay salmon entry permits. Furthermore, as a whole, Alaskans held nearly 54 percent of the Bristol Bay salmon permits.
Many more Alaskans are crew members, processors, transporters, wholesalers and retailers dependent upon the Bristol Bay salmon fishery (Alaska’s largest salmon fishery).
We offer this information to help ensure that the importance of the Bristol Bay salmon fishery to Alaska is not underestimated.
Commissioner Benjamin Brown
Commissioner Peter Froehlich
Commissioner Bruce Twomley
Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission
