Lecture on Pre-Statehood Fish Traps Today

Jay Barrett/KMXT
One of the prime movers in the Alaska Statehood movement before that became a reality in 1959 was taking commercial salmon fishing decisions out of the hands of the federal government, which was largely influenced by the powerful Seattle seafood processors.
Their use of fish traps had slaughtered so many salmon the fisheries around the state had become unreliable. Historian James Mackovjak (m’COVE-jak) calls the salmon traps “among the most efficient fish-catching devices the world has ever seen.”
The reason you’ve likely never seen one is they were banned by the Alaska Legislature as soon as Alaska became a state.
But their history is intriguing as is their impact on Alaska communities. And that will be the topic of a lecture by Mackovjak (m’COVE-jak) this afternoon. He will be live in the Anchorage Cooperative Extension office, but the lecture will be streamed to Kodiak College and other University of Alaska locations from noon to 2:30.
The lecture will also be streamed live on line.