The Alaska Department of Law has voided regulations aimed at restricting the Area M commercial salmon fishery.
The regulations were passed by the state Board of Fisheries in February, and quickly challenged in a lawsuit filed by the Aleutians East Borough, the Native Village of Unga, and two commercial fishing groups. They argued the regulations couldn't be enforced because the Board of Fisheries violated state ethics laws while adopting them.
The groups dropped the lawsuit Wednesday after the state revoked the new rules, with both sides agreeing to end the case.
Area M has long been at the center of a fight over salmon conservation in Western Alaska, where low chum and Chinook returns have led to major restrictions on subsistence fishing.
The five regulations approved by board members at their February meeting would have reduced when and where commercial salmon harvesters could fish in the South Alaska Peninsula, commonly called Area M. They would also have added closures tied to Chinook salmon harvests.
The borough and other plaintiffs, including the Native Village of Unga, argued that some of the board's votes were invalid due to undisclosed conflicts of interest, and that some of the board members should not have participated in the vote.
The issue has divided fishing groups across Alaska for decades. Subsistence harvesters in western Alaska, most notably Native communities in the Yukon-Kuskokwim region, have raised alarm over dismal salmon returns. They say the intercept fishery in Area M has contributed to poor returns in their region and led to closures that threaten their entire way of life.
Area M fishermen and local officials say the restrictions would hurt fishing communities without doing much to help salmon returns.
Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, applauded the attorney general's decision to void the board's actions in a Wednesday statement.
"This is not an isolated incident, but instead, part of an escalating pattern by the Board to subvert the public process and its own regulations," Stutes said.
Stutes said she plans to request an independent review of the board, with the intention of "bringing a comprehensive Board of Fisheries reform bill before the legislature."
In a Wednesday statement, the borough called the state's action a complete victory.
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