More Alaska tribes are urging the state's governor to close the Bristol Bay salmon fishing area this year, citing growing concerns over the potential for the coronavirus to spread and decimate local communities.

The Naknek Native Village Council, the South Naknek Village Council, and the King Salmon Tribe have joined the City of Dillingham and the Curyung Tribe in calling for the governor to put extreme protective measures in place or consider closing the world’s most valuable and productive sockeye salmon fishery, KDLG reports.

Earlier this month the mayor of Dillingham, Alaska -- the largest town in Bristol Bay, home to the world's largest sockeye salmon run -- joined chief of Alaska's Curyung Tribal Council in a letter saying "there is no way to prevent a potential mass disease situation" if the fishery opens in June.