KeepAmericaFishing: Alaska’s World Class Fisheries Threatened by Industrial Mining
KeepAmericaFishing 06.05.12
The Situation
Alaska’s Bristol Bay is home to the world’s largest sockeye salmon runs and supports numerous important recreational fisheries as well as providing food and income for thousands of Alaska’s citizens and visitors.
However, a massive mining proposal, known as Pebble Mine, poses a clear and present danger to the region’s phenomenal recreational fisheries and a great tradition that has been passed down for generations.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released a draft scientific study of the Bristol Bay watershed, the scope of its natural resources and the impending threats that potential mining projects, including Pebble Mine, pose to this unmatched natural, public resource. This assessment overwhelmingly supports what the sportfishing community has been advocating for – the denial of Pebble Mine permits under the Clean Water Act.
The EPA has jurisdiction to deny mining permits if they would have unacceptable adverse effects on water purity, fish, wildlife and recreational areas – as expected for Pebble Mine. Sportsmen and women can help protect this region and Alaska’s rich fishing heritage by sending a message to the EPA today and a copy to your Members of Congress. Urge them to exercise their authority to protect Alaska’s fisheries and the people that depend on Bristol Bay for their livelihoods. Click here to send your message today!
KeepAmericaFishing is the fastest growing community of anglers united with one common goal -- to protect our right to sustainably fish on our nation's waterways. As the voice of the American angler, KeepAmericaFishing works to keep our public resources – our oceans, lakes, rivers and streams – open, clean and abundant with fish.
Across the country, preventing or limiting recreational anglers’ access to public waters fisheries is being touted as a new way to manage fish populations. This unprecedented shift undermines the achievements of proven fisheries management methods that focus on conservation and promote sustainable fishing. As a result, the past 10 years have seen a dramatic increase in bans on recreational fishing from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from Texas to Minnesota.
In an effort to combat access restrictions around the country, the American Sportfishing Association launched KeepAmericaFishing to unite the nation’s 60 million anglers under one voice. Through policy, science and conservation, KeepAmericaFishing works to minimize access restrictions, promote clean waters and restore fish populations. With its conservation partners, KeepAmericaFishing works to limit and provide for review and revision science-based closures to areas in which they are clearly beneficial to the health of the fishery.
At KeepAmericaFishing, we are working to give voice to the millions of American recreational anglers who share one thing in common - a passion for fishing.
