Welcome to Summer is for Salmon! Summer is for Salmon evolved into a forum for outreach, education, public involvement and non-violent direct-action to implement policy changes that protect the environment.
In 2018, we will usher in a new vision for our forum. If you have a need, want to be partner, or have recommendations, please contact us!
How We Got Here:
Our previous campaign sought to protect wild salmon habitat in the Gulf of Alaska from the U.S Navy’s training exercises known as "Northern Edge."
We supports a well-trained U.S. Navy and are not asking for the exercises to be discontinued. We are asking for the U.S. Navy work with local communities to find the best time and location for training that poses the least amount of risk to the valuable habitat and resources within the Gulf of Alaska (GOA).
In the 43 years that the U.S. Navy has conducted trainings in the GOA, only twice have trainings occurred in May (2007, 2008). The use of active sonar, only permitted since 2011, has never occurred in May. Historically, trainings took place in winter months (1973 – 2003). Only in 2004 was Northern Edge moved to the summer months.
May is one of the prime months for species migration into the GOA. The U.S. Navy has not conducted any additional research to prove that training in May will not harm or have negative effects on migrating fish and marine mammals. Furthermore, the U.S. Navy has previously identified that both September and October are acceptable months in which ‘Northern Edge’ can be conducted.
The U.S. Navy’s conclusion contradicts the available scientific literature on noise and ignores the valid concerns of fishermen, regional tribal villages and coastal communities.
Our environment is changing. In these fluctuating times, it is our responsibly to take every measure to safeguard the future of our fisheries. Allowing the U.S. Navy to train in May could have a number of unintended consequences and unfavorable impacts to our fisheries including:
o Immediate decline in catch due to direct physical injury and mortality from weapons and sonar;
o Delays in fish runs as a result of scattering effects from sonar (observed after 2015 trainings in Bristol Bay and other fisheries);
o Exposure and contamination of fish from U.S. Navy-sourced expended materials such as cyanide, mercury and lead; and,
o Failure to (or an increase in the time needed to) reach the next developmental stage of juvenile fish populations.
COASTAL COMMUNITIES UNITE TO MOVE U.S. NAVY TRAINING
