Alaskans will celebrate Alaska Wild Salmon Day on August 10, but plans also are underway for a much bigger celebration: the International Year of the Salmon set to officially begin in 2019.

The theme is “Salmon and people in a changing world” and a key focus will be a winter salmon study in the deepest regions of the Gulf of Alaska.

Both are sponsored in part by the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission (NPAFC), which for 25 years has promoted research collaboration among scientists in its five member countries – Canada, Russian, Japan, Korea and the U.S.

“The main inspiration fo...