October 14, 2009

October 13/14 Alaska Board of Fisheries Meeting - Update #2

Day two day of the meeting took place on Wednesday with fewer items of interest to Southeast. The following items discussed:

7. Stocks of Concern
8. Salmon Industry Restructuring Proposals
9. Other Reports

The full agenda can be viewed here: http://www.boards.adfg.state.ak.us/fishinfo/meetinfo/2009-2010/Worksession/agenda-10-09.pdf

Six of the seven Board members were present with M. Morris unavailable due to travel difficulties.  There were approximately 50 people in attendance including the public and ADF&G staff support. Department reports, public submissions and additional information are listed here: http://www.boards.adfg.state.ak.us/fishinfo/meetinfo/fcal.php

7. Stocks of Concern – There were no Stocks of Concern in Southeast highlighted. The majority of the discussion centered around the Central AYK district and various Bristol Bay stocks. Look at Recorded comments which will be posted here in several days: http://www.boards.adfg.state.ak.us/fishinfo/meetinfo/fcal.php

8. Salmon Restructuring Committee - The following nine proposals (#15-#20, #76, #77, and #168) been identified as possible salmon industry restructuring proposals. These issues consist of vessel size limits, stacking of permits, pink salmon harvest in AYK, and others. A full explanation of each proposal can be found here: http://www.boards.adfg.state.ak.us/fishinfo/sirp/index.php The Board spent considerable time discussing the information that they would require in order to make sound decisions on each proposal in upcoming meetings. Significant time was spent regarding completion of an economic analysis for each proposal. Commissioner Lloyd offered to use his office for requesting resources to complete such studies by the Department of Commerce. While economical analyses were deemed important others indicated that budget restrictions may preclude their completion and members may be required to make decisions without full information. This is a potentially large issue which if we can keep it alive which will raise the bar for future submissions.

9. Other Reports – There were only a couple of reports presented with a potential impact on Southeast. See the agenda for the full list.

• ADF&G commented on the proposed logbook changes for next year explaining that multiple meetings had been conducted around the state and received well. The automated data capture process will be implemented in the 2010 season for saltwater and the following year for the freshwater logbook.

• ADF&G reported on the status of the Sportfish Guide Bill saying that the previous administration had requested a hold in the last legislative session. It is anticipated that this initiative will become a formal bill in the upcoming winter legislative session.

• NPFMC reported on several issues that may have impact on parallel fisheries management but the primary emphasis was focused on Bering Sea activities and Gulf of Alaska/ Kodiak/Aleutian issue.

SEAGO was well represented at the meeting and had multiple opportunities promote Southeast related issues privately to Board members. In summary, there was a definite change in the way this meeting was conducted we suspect in part due to the new Board management, and we hope that it will speak to the formation of a more professional process in the future.