SEAFOOD.COM NEWS
Copyright 2005 Anchorage Daily News
February 24, 2005

If anybody needs further proof that members of the animal rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals were dropped here by an alien spaceship, their recent demand that king salmon fishing be banned should do the trick.

The group last week asked Gov. Frank Murkowski to put king salmon off-limits to fishing because the fish are 'intelligent animals who feel pain,' a news release from the governor's office says.

Why just kings? Why not step up to keep other fish species off our menus and out of our freezers? Well, that is next, PETA says, and saving the state fish is just the first step in protecting all of our finny friends.

It is no surprise that the governor's office is not buying into the request -- hook, line or sinker.

You have to wonder why PETA would come up with something so outlandish in a state where commercial and sport fishing are economic lynchpins. Surely the geniuses there must understand that while this kind of lunacy gets headliens, it only cheapens and sidetracks any discussion of legitimate fish and wildlife issues. Surely they know it marginalizes their organization with anyone whose IQ is larger than their shoe size.

There is no doubt that mature, well-informed discussion of the issues is not what PETA is about. It is all about money and this state is more of a tempting target for this kind of fluffery than others because it is easier to wring $1 or $5 from the uninformed or unbalanced when the word 'Alaska' is tossed into the mix. It is sexier, and very much more appealing to the rubes and suckers, we suppose, to 'save' a critter here than in, say, New Jersey.

But king salmon? Red salmon? Silvers? Dolly Varden? Trout? Dinner? All this begs the question of what would happen to the fish if they all could somehow be 'saved.' Don't they just die anyway? What a waste.

PETA's silliness -- and you must also wonder about the folks who give it money -- just gets sillier. We can only applaud the organization for showing the world its wackier side. It is increasingly difficult to take the buffoons at PETA seriously.

If this tax exempt group, which has given funds and support to the likes of the Earth Liberation and the Animal Liberation fronts, actually wants to help critters it should take its taxpayer-subsidized plunder from folks who do not know any better and use it to support shelters and such instead of continually using the dough to offer itself as a national laughingstock.

Who knows? With hard work and a focused effort, maybe it actually could do some good.