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Bristol Bay is a long way from Wallingford, in southwest Alaska, but if you enjoy wild sockeye salmon and eating at Wallingford restaurants, you’ve got the motive and the opportunity to get involved in an important environmental issue.

Bristol Bay produces the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery and one of the largest king salmon runs, with as many as 60 million sockeye returning every year, 40% of the global supply, but there’s a threat looming: several mining companies have been eyeing the massive stores of gold, copper and molybdemum in what’s known as the Pebble deposit in the region, and are drawing up plans to mine it. Construction of the mine would require the world’s largest earthen dam to be built to contain the toxic waste from the mine. According to the Save Bristol Bay web site, “Pebble will produce 2.5 billion tons of waste that would have to be treated in perpetuity. Any release of this waste into the surface or groundwater has the  potential to destroy Bristol Bays salmon runs forever.”

Disturbingly, the Pebble region is seismically active, and some scientists have questioned whether the dam would withstand an earthquake such as the 9.2 quake that slammed Anchorage in 1964.

Some Seattle restaurants, including Wallingford’s exceptional Art of the Table (1054 N. 39th St), are pitching in to help, and will be donating some of their salmon sales, Tuesday 9/5 – Friday 9/9, to Save Bristol Bay.

For a full list of all 17 participating Seattle restaurants, visit the Dine Out for Bristol Bay web site.