The Copper River Program
Within the Copper River ecosystem, salmon are the sustainable "natural capital" that is the key to local economies. Each year an average of 2–3 million sockeye, Coho, and Chinook salmon return to the system, with about 2/3 being harvested by the commercial gillnet fishery on the delta. The fishery averages $20 million/year in direct revenue to over 500 fishing permit holders, and another $20 million in processing and other secondary economic benefits.
Subsistence and sport fishermen on the upper river harvest over 200,000 salmon each year, with values estimated at between $3 and $5 million, a critical contribution to the upriver economy and culture.
By developing appropriate monitoring, conservation, and protection strategies for wild salmon and the habitat they depend on, supported by long-term scientific observations, we can continue to provide sustainable natural capital for dependent species, especially human populations.
Key Objectives
- Major threats to Eastern Copper Delta habitats extinguished or significantly delayed (50+ years). See the map of Katalla (1.7mb pdf) for more information.
- Acceptance and initial implementation of a collaborative watershed-modeling framework that addresses key land use and in-river management issues affecting salmon.
- Broad stakeholder agreement to address policy and research gaps on the effects of hatchery practices on wild salmon populations.
Strategies
Primary
- Address threats to intact habitats through private lands conservation; see Mummy Island (482k pdf) and Berg Lakes Parcels (373k pdf) reports.
- Organize a collaborative process to address policy gaps in coordinated resource management on a watershed level; and
- Organize a formal public process for review of hatchery influences on wild salmon genetic conservation.
Secondary
- Increase the value of commercially caught salmon to assure financial viability for communities and individuals dependent on the resource.
- Establish a salmon biostation on the Copper as a North Pacific reference site for understanding how pristine salmon watersheds function.
Partners
Copper River Watershed Project
Prince William Sound Science Center
