Ballot Measure 1, initiated by Alaskan citizens, is under attack from well-funded opposition. Ads are full of misinformation and some downright hysteria.
Let me just focus on the “ruining the economy” claim. Our family fishes for salmon. Salmon provides us with a fine lifestyle. Commercial salmon provides for crew members, boat builders, gear and electronic stores, tradesmen, processors, boat yards, etc. Commercial sport salmon adds to our economy: guides, sport shops, tourism….. You get the drift. Let’s not forget personal use and subsistence fish and how much recreational and protein value is in our freezers. Thousands of Alaskans benefit economically right now from salmon.
We in the last frontier have the advantage of knowing that major salmon runs in Europe, on our eastern seaboard, and all up our Pacific coast have been decimated. We can see what our frontier’s future will hold if we don’t upgrade our watchfulness for this incredible gift – salmon.
I truly believe that we are also lucky enough to live in a time of advanced technology. We can figure out how to mitigate and how to build responsibly.
Follow the money on the TV ads, the slick mailings, the endorsements. Decide what is “foolish” and short sighted. I’ll be voting YES on 1
— Claudia Anderson
Kodiak
