SITKA, Alaska (Daily Sitka (Alaska) Sentinel) — An Alaska court has upheld a lawsuit by a tribal organization against the state concerning the sac roe herring fishery and its protection as a subsistence resource. The Daily Sitka Sentinel reported a Juneau Superior Court judge ruled to allow the Sitka Tribe of Alaska’s lawsuit seeking protection of its herring subsistence fishing. The Sitka Tribe says the Alaska Department of Fish & Game failed to follow a regulation requiring state biologists to distribute the commercial harvest to also meet the needs of subsistence harvesters. The state and industry association Southeast Herring Conservation Alliance argued for dismissal of the case.
