Comment Deadline Regarding Alaska Chinook Salmon Petition Extended

NOAA Fisheries has extended through Sept. 6 the deadline for public comment on its 90-day finding regarding a petition to list Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

The 45-day deadline extension was announced on June 27. The agency earlier had set a 60-day public comment period to end on July 23.

In advance of its initial findings, NOAA solicited scientific and commercial information about the status of the Gulf of Alaska Chinook population.

The agency noted that it’s unable to extend the statutory deadline for completing the status review and publishing a 12-month finding under the ESA. Given that requirement, anyone interested in submitting their comments and data is advised to do so as soon as possible to allow more time for review and to incorporate the information where appropriate.

The petition under study was received by NOAA on Jan. 11 from the Wild Fish Conservancy in Seattle, in an effort to have all Chinook populations entering the GOA as threatened or endangered under the ESA.

NOAA Fisheries issued the positive 90-day finding on the petition, finding that there was substantial information that an ESA listing for these Chinook stocks may be warranted.

Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang has been critical of the action. On May 23, he issued a statement saying that the petition was clearly drafted by people with little knowledge of Alaska and Alaska salmon stocks and rife with significant factual errors, omits important data that are widely available, and does not accurately describe the status of Chinook salmon in Alaska.

Comments regarding the petition may be submitted electronically or by mail. To submit electronic comments via the federal eRulemaking portal, visit https://www.regulations.gov and enter NOAA-NMFS-2024-0042 in the Search box. Click on the “Comment” icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.

To submit by mail, address comments to Anne Marie Eich, Assistant Regional Administrator, Protected Resources Division, Alaska Region NMFS, Attn. Susan Meyer. Mail comments to P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802