Alaska Fisheries Report — July 4, 2019

• The deadline for comments on the Pebble Mine Draft Environmental Impact Statement has closed. More than 91,000 comments were received, including that of the EPA, which found fault with the EIS. The agency says the draft report likely underestimates the risks the mine poses.
• Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy did some serious red-inking to the state’s budget, including cuts to ADF&G’s Commercial Fisheries line item.
• And we finish up this week with good news. Federal funds for the 2016 Kodiak Pink Salmon disaster are finally freed up. Affected fishermen should make sure Fish and Game have the correct address to send application forms.

We had help from Izzy Ross at KDLG in Dillingham and Liz Ruskin, the Washington Correspondent for Alaska Public Media.

Good luck fishing everyone, and remember life vests really do save lives. Use one.