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Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today that new regulations governing the fishing rights of the Metlakatla Indian Community within the Annette Islands Reserve in Alaska were published in the Federal Register June 5.
The purpose of the new regulations is to give the Metlakatla Indians the opportunity to catch their fair share of the annual salmon run.
Salmon canning is the chief industry of the community and the Reserve includes the waters within 3,000 feet of the shoreline of the islands.
Previous regulations provided that fishing by the Indians within the Reserve was subject to certain State regulations. The new regulations permit the Secretary of the Interior or his representative to allow exceptions to the State regulations.
The Annette Islands in southeast Alaska are about 700 miles north of Seattle, Washington.
