A federal court in Seattle has issued a final ruling in Wild Fish Conservancy’s lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service. The decision stops the overharvesting of Chinook salmon in southeast Alaska waters. According to the lawsuit,  mismanagement of the southeast Alaska troll fishery by NOAA Fisheries has resulted in depleted stocks of wild Chinook up and down the Pacific Coast. An estimated 97 percent of the Chinook salmon harvested in this fishery originate from British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon rivers. About 50 percent of those fish are bound for the Columbia River.

LINK (via Wild Fish Conservancy)

Needless to say, Alaska fishermen are not at all happy about the decision.

SalmonState also released a statement regarding the ruling.