U.S. business leaders: EPA’s protections for Bristol Bay call for "huge celebration"
ANCHORAGE, AK—Business leaders across the country today applauded the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) issuance of final science-based safeguards for the largest sockeye salmon run on the planet — Bristol Bay, Alaska, which provides 15,000 jobs each year, feeds people around the world, and draws sport anglers from across the globe to its pristine lakes, rivers and streams.
“As a business with a long history in Bristol Bay, we are thrilled to see the Environmental Protection Agency issue its veto of the Pebble Mine project. This proposal has loomed as a threat over the world’s most productive wild salmon fishery for far too long. After record sockeye salmon runs in recent seasons, it will be a relief for the region’s residents, the commercial fishing industry, and recreationists from across the globe to look forward to the 2023 season without this dark cloud of uncertainty,” said Ashley Williams, Vice President of Marketing for Grundens. “We are thankful that the EPA listened to the millions of people who for nearly two decades have pushed to end the threat of Pebble Mine and protect Bristol Bay for generations to come.”
“Bristol Bay sockeye salmon is a world-class product, and there’s a huge demand for it on the retail market from coast to coast,” said Alan Hummel, Category Director of Meat & Seafood for New Seasons Market. “We are both thrilled and thankful that the Environmental Protection Agency has done its job to protect this important fishery from the threat of Pebble Mine by finalizing Clean Water Act protections for Bristol Bay. Thanks to these protections, we’ll be able to continue to provide our customers with high-quality wild Alaskan salmon.”
“We are thankful to see the Environmental Protection Agency finally protect Bristol Bay from the threat of Pebble Mine. This mine has threatened one of the world's finest sport fishing destinations for far too long,” said Tag Kleiner, Chief Marketing Officer/Chief Product Officer of Far Bank Enterprises, the parent company of Sage, Redington, RIO Products, and Fly Water Travel. “Thanks to the EPA’s protections, lodge and camp operators, guides and anglers can return to Bristol Bay without worrying that one day it could all be destroyed. We pride ourselves on being stewards of the lands and waters that provide us with outdoor recreation opportunities, and we are excited to see the Biden administration prioritize protecting Bristol Bay. Today’s decision was decades in the making and will allow our business and many others in the sport fishing industry to continue to thrive for years to come.”
“Today’s decision from the Environmental Protection Agency calls for a huge celebration,” said Seattle chef, author, and restaurateur Tom Douglas. “After almost two decades of having the threat of the destructive Pebble Mine hanging over the heads of everyone who relies on the bounty of salmon that returns to Bristol Bay each year, we are so grateful that Clean Water Act protections are now in place to keep the fishery and community in the region thriving for years to come. Nearly every chef knows the difference between serving salmon and serving wild Bristol Bay salmon. And as a chef in Washington State, Bristol Bay salmon is a staple in my restaurants – and a component of several dishes on my menus that patrons have come to know and love. I am so thankful that the EPA stepped up to protect this irreplaceable ecosystem– ensuring that restaurants like mine can continue to support the fishery and serve Bristol Bay salmon.”
Hundreds of business leaders from around the country — from commercial and sport fishermen, to jewelers, to grocers, to outdoor recreation leaders, to hunters, to chefs and restaurants — have long supported protections for Bristol Bay, which supplies more than half the world’s sockeye salmon and is home to thriving Indigenous cultures that have stewarded Alaska’s wild salmon since time immemorial.