(Washington, DC) – Together with a diverse coalition of chefs, restaurateurs, commercial fishermen, anglers, hunters, lodge owners, outfitters, guides and Alaska Native leaders, Trout Unlimited is holding a variety of events in Washington, D.C., this week to mark October as Alaska Wild Salmon Month and to shine a spotlight on the risks to Alaska’s Bristol Bay wild salmon.

Bristol Bay produces the world’s largest sockeye salmon run, but this prolific fishery faces a major threat from the proposed Pebble mine, a controversial project that would be North America’s largest open-pit gold and copper mine, located in the headwaters of Bristol Bay, Alaska.

As part of Alaska Wild Salmon Month, a number of prominent D.C.-area restaurants are featuring Bristol Bay wild salmon on their menus throughout October, including Equinox, owned by culinary leader, Chef Todd Gray. Rated among the top restaurants in Washington, D.C., Equinox won the 2008 Restaurant Association Award for Best Fine Dining.

“Bristol Bay sockeye salmon is truly superb. With wild salmon runs increasingly rare the world over, this outstanding fish deserves full-scale protection from proposed mining in Bristol Bay, one of the largest and most productive salmon spawning areas left on the planet. I’m honored to promote awareness of this wild salmon and the threat it faces,” Gray said.

Wild sockeye salmon from Bristol Bay, Alaska, are one of the tastiest, most plentiful and yet threatened fish on the planet. Tens of millions of ruby-red sockeye salmon return from the Pacific Ocean to their natal rivers in the wilds of Southwest Alaska each summer, to the same place where mining companies are planning to build a giant open-pit gold and copper mine.

Trout Unlimited, the nation’s oldest and largest organization dedicated to conserving, protecting and restoring North America’s coldwater fisheries and their watersheds, is committed to stopping the Pebble mine.

Throughout this week, from Oct. 19-23, Trout Unlimited is hosting several Bristol Bay wild salmon events in Washington, D.C. These include meetings on Capitol Hill with a delegation of concerned Alaskans, a Bristol Bay wild salmon reception at the historic Stewart R. Mott House, and a screening of the award-winning documentary about Bristol Bay, Red Gold, followed by a panel discussion with Alaska Natives, policy makers and others at National Geographic.

For more on the Bristol Bay situation, please go to tu.org -- Jay Cassell