Knowles asks feds to review Chilean salmon dumping
JUNEAU - Gov. Tony Knowles is asking the Federal International Trade Administration to widen a review of Chilean farm-raised salmon exports, which he said are responsible for depressing the prices paid to Alaska fishermen.
Knowles sent a letter to Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans on Thursday asking that the ITA look at recent practices by key Chilean exporters.
The domestic salmon industry submitted information to the ITA that shows Chilean exporters have been dumping salmon on the open market at below-cost prices since June 2001, Knowles said.
An oversupply of farm-raised salmon from other countries has forced 4,500 Alaska fishermen to leave the industry in recent years, Knowles said. The governor recently declared an economic disaster in Western Alaska because of low salmon prices.