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Charter Operators Win Halibut Victory -- More Battles Ahead Area 2C charter operators are rightly celebrating two legal victories in the last month on the federal halibut catch limit regulation. Our two-fish limit seems secure for this season. These victories only came about because charter operators in Southeast were willing to organize and fight for the long-term well-being of our industry. (SEAGO joined forces with the Charter Halibut Taskforce). But, important as these victories are, they are just one front in a much bigger struggle. This fall the North Pacific Council will again consider how to allocate the allowable harvest of halibut between commercial and recreational interests. Since there likely will be a reduction in the harvest next year, the choice will again come down to this: a very slight reduction to the commercial fleet, which takes over 90% of the harvest, or a very large reduction to the charter fleet, which takes 6.2%. For a very insightful column on this issue, read Craig Medred’s view: Allocation of halibut calls for revolution (Anchorage Daily News, June 8, 2008) And commit to attend the fall NPFMC council meeting in conjunction the SEAGO annual meeting – see below!
NOAA proposes ANGLER Registration program NMFS/NOAA has proposed an angler registration program to obtain better data on angler participation and catch results. The proposed program would mandate that all anglers and boats for hire be registered with the federal government to insure that the collection of sport caught fisheries data is the best available. There are provisions for qualifying states anglers and boats for hire to be exempt if those states have approved reporting requirements. SEAGO will be working with our members and the State of Alaska sport fish division to insure that the final program does not have burdensome requirements. Please read the following article and forward your concerns to Henry Mitchell, SEAGO Executive Director, at seagoalaska@gmail.com.
SEAGO ANNUAL MEETING SCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER Mark your calendars: The board of directors has set SEAGO's first annual membership/board meeting for the first week of October in Anchorage. The annual meeting is your opportunity to elect your board of directors and to participate in the development of the SEAGO's long-term policies and programs. You may participate in person or by telephone. Information on the timing and logistics of participating in the meeting will be provided in the near future. We are expecting a large turnout for our meeting since it is being held the same week as the North Pacific Council meeting. Please try to attend this critical meeting!
MAKING WAVES (Henry Mitchell, SEAGO Executive Director) I recently came across a communication which displayed a serious impediment to our success in convincing senior fisheries managers of the importance of the charter fishing industry to South East Alaska - our industry has been tagged by these individuals as having done an incredibly poor job of getting our message to the policy makers. I am not going to quibble about these observations, but I am going to elicit your support in stepping up the flow of communications from our industry and your clients to these policy makers. Many of you have been gathering comments from your clients about their concerns with the restrictive environment and lack of other fishing opportunities in area 2C. It is time to share these comments with the State and Federal fishery policy makers! Let the ripple become a tidal wave. Please copy Henry Mitchell, SEAGO Executive Director at seagoalaska@gmail.com, any communications you send to them. Visit our web site at http://www.seagoalaska.org or contact our executive director, Henry Mitchell at (907-947-2121) or email: seagoalaska@gmail.com
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