Action Agenda : Upcoming Events
North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC)
When: Beginning September 29, 2008
Where: Anchorage Alaska, Sheraton Hotel
Importance: Extreme. The final halibut allocation for the charter fleet to be set. The amount of fish will determine if we’re fishing under a one-per-day bag limit for the foreseeable future and how much money you might have to spend to buy your way back to a two-per-day bag limit
Action:Attend the meeting – your business future depends on it. Call, write, and email the decision makers. Stay connected to SEAGO and the Charter Halibut Task Force websites for updates.
SEAGO Annual Meeting
Where: Anchorage, Alaska. The Anchorage Sheraton, room 312
When: October 2, 2008, 7:30pm
Call-in Option: If you cannot attend, you may participate via teleconference. E-mail Tom Ohaus and he will provide you the call-in number and access code.
Importance: High. This is the first annual meeting of SEAGO. Come and make your support known and your voice heard.
Action: We will elect the board of directors and discuss our strategy for the issues ahead.
International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) Annual Meeting
Where: Vancouver, BC
When: January 13-16, 2009
Importance: High. The IPHC will decide how halibut are apportioned throughout the range. Area 2C – Southeast Alaska – has suffered major reductions in harvest opportunity due to a new biological model and the apportionment of halibut based on that mode. The charter industry needs to participate in the IPHC process to understand our role in conservation of the resource and to make sure the areas we fish get the right allocation.
Action: Attend the IPCH annual meeting. If you can’t, support the people who do – SEAGO and the CHTF.
Alaska Board of Fisheries (BOF)
Where: Sitka (SEAGO members from Sitka will be able to provide free lodging)
When: February 17-26, 2009
Importance: Extreme. Your next three years of fishing for all species other than halibut will be decided at the BOF. Historically the charter industry has had very poor showings relative to other user groups. Poor showings produce poor outcomes. Put it on the schedule.
Action: Support SEAGO proposals for lingcod and DSR (rockfish). Attend the meeting to participate in what will likely be some tweaking or complete alteration of the king salmon plan. Go to the Board of Fisheries website to obtain a list of proposals. Supporting our own proposals is important, watching our back for proposals from other user groups is equally important.