It’s a question almost as old as Alaska’s commercial fishing industry. Whenever the harvest of salmon must be limited (and that’s always), who gets to make the last catch — the commercial fisherman or the individuals feeding themselves?

The answer isn’t always clear, because different fisheries have different histories with different communities built upon them. Nevertheless, the state regulatory system should strive to give individual Alaskans a decent chance to eat fish not taken from a grocery store.

This question is at the center of the debate about the status of the dip net fishery for Copper River red salmon near Chitina. Many Fairbanks residents get a winter’s supply of fish from the river, despite the 700-mile round-trip drive required to do so. Should they have a priority over the commercial salmon fleet operating in Prince William Sound?