OCTOBER 6, 2006. JUNEAU, ALASKA.  Alaska commercial fisherman and longtime Alaska State Senator Richard I. Eliason was honored in a precedent-setting nomination to the Wild Salmon Hall of Fame.  Eliason was honored for his exceptional contributions to the health of wild Pacific salmon runs; as the first Alaskan and the first commercial fisherman ever nominated, he put Alaska on the map of the Pacific Northwest Salmon Center.

While serving in the Legislature, Eliason championed legislation to protect Alaska’s healthy wild salmon stocks by prohibiting finfish farming in Alaska, a law passed in 1990 and still in effect. During his two decades of service in the Legislature he advocated tirelessly on behalf of careful management Alaska’s fishery resources. He was instrumental in creating a statutory priority for sustained yield of wild salmon stocks in Alaska, a guiding principle in the successful management of Alaska’s abundant sustainable salmon fisheries today.

In addition to commercial fishing for nearly 70 years, Eliason has a long history of  distinguished public service: city government, the mayorship of his hometown of Sitka, membership in the Alaska State House of Representatives and a long stint as a leader in the Alaska State Senate including the post of Senate President. His Senate district covered coastal communities from one end of the Southeast “Panhandle” to the other, and he developed a statewide reputation as an effective champion of Alaska’s fisheries and commercial fishing.

Commercial fishing and conservation often go hand in glove in Alaska. Eliason’s decades of accomplishment in supporting the health of wild salmon fisheries were recognized in letters of support sent to the Pacific Northwest Salmon Center by Seafood Producers Cooperative, Alaska Trollers Association, United Fishermen of Alaska, Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, and the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council.

Before a crowd of 200 wild salmon supporters, at the Kitsap Conference Center in Bremerton, Washington, Eliason and the three other nominees each received public recognition of their work to preserve wild Pacific salmon. Formal congratulations and commemorative awards were bestowed by Bill Ruckelshaus. Other finalists honored were Nat Scholz of the National Marine Fisheries Service in Seattle, Tom Stuart of Idaho Rivers United, and Jay Nicholas, a biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Nicholas was subsequently inducted to the 2006 Wild Salmon Hall of Fame.

# #  #

Photos: R. I. "Dick" Eliason aboard the F/V Karmon Dee

R.I. "Dick" Eliason (right) with one of his children, George Eliason, at the Wild Salmon Hall of Fame celebration in Bremerton, Washington.