We along the Yukon River are casualties of an unjust system that protects big enterprise and a state government that is unsympathetic to the rural people of Alaska, primarily the Native community. Thus, we the Native people along the entire Yukon River face an uncertain future; our subsistence way of life is now in serious jeopardy. Click here for the whole letter!
Federal judge today declined to grant Southeast Alaska halibut charter boat operators an injunction to block the one-fish bag limit set to take effect tomorrow 6/5/2009.
In a new rule released today, NOAA’s Fisheries Service reduced the number of halibut that charter vessel anglers in southeast Alaska can keep each day from two to one to protect the halibut stock.
"While today’s rule addresses an immediate need to better manage the charter halibut fishery, we believe the long-term solution to sustainably managing the fishery is for the charter halibut fishery to join with the commercial halibut fishery in a catch share program,” said Doug Mecum, acting regional administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service in Alaska. “Catch share programs that allocate the total allowable catch to participants in the fishery give a strong incentive to fishermen to conserve fish stocks."
Halibut fishing along the Pacific Coast is managed under overall limits set for each fishing area. Sport charter halibut fishermen in Southeast Alaska have exceeded their assigned harvest levels for several years.
"Sport charter fishing has grown in southeast Alaska while halibut abundance has decreased," said Mecum. "With this rule, we are trying to reduce the charter halibut catch to ensure that we continue to fish sustainably. We want to work with the North Pacific Fishery Management Council on a long-term solution for sustainable fishing by both commercial and recreational fishing sectors."
As part of the new rule, effective June 5, a halibut sport charter vessel angler in southeast Alaska may use only one fishing line, and no more than a total of six lines are allowed on a charter vessel fishing for halibut. Further, charter operators, guides and crew are prohibited from catching and retaining halibut during a charter fishing trip.
Details of the new rule can be found at: http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/sustainablefisheries/halibut/charters.htm
Managers put a similar rule in place last spring, but sport charter halibut operators challenged it on procedural grounds and the agency withdrew the rule.
NOAA Fisheries opens comments on proposal limiting charter halibut boats
NOAA Fisheries has opened comment on a proposed program designed to limit the number of charter boats in the guided sport halibut fishery in Southeast Alaska and the central Gulf of Alaska.
“The guided sport charter halibut sector has been growing steadily in recent years,” said Acting Regional Administrator Doug Mecum. “The proposed limited access program is intended to stabilize the guided charter sector while maintaining access to the halibut charter fishery for small rural coastal communities."
Under the proposed program,
permits would be issued to qualifying individuals or businesses that documented fishing trips during a qualifying year (2004 or 2005) and a recent participation year (probably 2007 or 2008) in their logbooks;
halibut guide business operators would be required to hold a permit for each boat they use to provide their charter clients with halibut fishing trips;
charter halibut permit holders would be subject to limits on the number of permits they could hold and on the number of charter boat anglers who could catch and retain halibut on their charter boats;
newcomers could enter the charter halibut fishery only if they were able to purchase an existing permit;
permits could be issued to community quota groups representing specific rural communities;
permits would be endorsed for fishing only in a specific International Pacific Halibut Commission management area;
permits would be endorsed for the maximum number of clients on the boat
Unguided or independent sport fishermen and subsistence fishermen would not be included under the proposed charter halibut limited access program.
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council voted to develop the proposed limited access program for the sport charter halibut fishery in March, 2007.
The proposed program would apply only in International Pacific Halibut Commission regulatory areas 2C (Southeast Alaska) and 3A (Central Gulf of Alaska).
Comments must be received by June 5, 2009.
The proposed new management system is described in detail in the proposed rule at http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/prules/74fr18178.pdf
NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources. Visit http://www.noaa.gov. To learn more about NOAA Fisheries in Alaska, visit http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov or: www.afsc.noaa.gov
Halibut Charter Moritorium will be announced this week. The hotest word in the blogosphere is about the halibut charter guide moritorium being announced for its final public comment period this week. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council has established a limited entry program for the halibut sport charter industry operating in southeast and southcentral Alaska. This program is anticipated to go into effect in 2010. Qualification for operating licenses under the program is based on participation during the 2004 or 2005 fishing seasons. Businesses not granted licenses will not be eligible to fish for halibut once this program goes into effect. Further information regarding this limited entry program can be obtained by calling the National Marine Fisheries Service at (907) 586-7228
4/16/2009
THE JOINT SESSION OF THE ALASKA LEGISLATURE JUST VOTED AGAINST THE CONFIRMATION OF BRENT JOHNSON TO THE STATE FISHERIES BOARD.
Governor Palin says. “Brent Johnson was both qualified and willing to serve on this high-profile board, and would have been the first Cook Inlet setnetter appointed since Dannie Garroutte was appointed by Governor Jay Hammond in 1975,” she said. “While it‘s discouraging to see politics undercut Brent’s opportunity for service, I recognize the legislature’s statutory authority not to confirm an appointment. I remain proud of the many individual Alaskans who spoke up in support of Brent Johnson, and thank the presiding officers for their efforts to keep the process fair.”
Members of the state Legislature have introduced resolutions asking Gov. Sarah Palin to examine the "inordinate and potentially unfair, unethical, and disproportionate influence of the commercial fisheries industries on fisheries management in Alaska."
The lawsuit the United Cook Inlet Drift Association, a commercial salmon fishermen's group, filed against the U.S. commerce secretary on March 5. The lawsuit, among other things, wants stop to personal use dipnet fisheries open to Alaska residents only. In their resolutions, the legislators ask the governor to oppose the lawsuit. And they ask for an examination of the commercial fishing industry's "disproportionate influence."Rep. Bill Stoltze, R-Chugiak, is the prime sponsor of House Joint Resolution 32. Sen. Charlie Huggins, R-Wasilla, is the prime sponsor of Senate Joint Resolution 22.
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