61 



Chinook Bycatch 



Chinook catches by U.S. groundfish trawl- 

 ers in the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska 

 are another problem. About 15,000 

 chinook were taken in the trawl fishery in 

 each area in 1990. In addition, early data 

 from the Bering Sea's "Donut Hole" area 

 suggest that the bycatch might exceed 



60,000 chinook. Concern grew in 1991 

 when, by early February, over 20,000 

 chinook were estimated to have been 

 caught in the Bering-Aleutian area and 

 about 2,200 chinook were taken in the Gulf 

 of Alaska. 



Habitat Problems 



Logging and industrial and urban develop- 

 ment can often degrade salmon habitat. 

 Logging problems can include road con- 

 struction and maintenance, use of chemi- 

 cals, and timber harvest. Though large 

 areas of Alaska's wetlands are presently 

 undisturbed and pristine and provide criti- 

 cal salmon habitat, logging activities have 

 affected about 100,000 acres of stream- 



side habitat and 3,000 miles of streams. 

 From 1981 to 1988, development was al- 

 lowed on about 41,000 acres of wetlands. 

 The State of Alaska has currently not ac- 

 cepted the Environmental Protection 

 Agency's policy on "no net loss" of wet- 

 lands. Very little information is yet avail- 

 able on the value of these vast wetlands as 

 fish habitat. 



