SEAGO Monthly Newsletter
October 10, 2010

In this month’s letter, we give you a more in-depth review of the SEAKER pilot amendment to the halibut Catch Share Plan, highlight the availability of grant funding for salmon related issues, and more.

The fourth quarter marks the ramp up of regulatory and political meetings for Alaska fishing matters. Of note, the October NPFMC (North Council) meeting included publication of the final regulations for the upcoming halibut catch share plan, there is a time-sensitive initiative with Pacific Salmon Treaty fund, (up to $800k available for Sport), and the start to the Board of Fish (BOF) regulatory meetings start this month. The North Council and BOF forums are the two primary regulatory bodies overseeing Alaska fishing matters and SEAGO remains active in both of these arenas on your behalf.  We attend all important meetings, speak out loud and clear, and solicit support from Alaska to Washington DC on your behalf.

In this Newsletter

  • Alaska Department of Fish and Game Updates – Commissioner Denby Lloyd announced his retirement this month and the task of finding his replacement begins.

  • The Board of Fisheries season kicks off in with its annual planning session in October.

  • Save Alaska Sportfishing Program – Get your clients engaged in saving sportfishing in Alaska.

  • Halibut Issues

    1. SEAGO’s Executive Director John Blair testified at the October, 2010 North Council meeting in Anchorage on the adverse impacts of the upcoming halibut catch share plan. If implemented as currently written it will leave charters in Southeast with a limit of less than one fish per day and South Central charters will also face restrictions. And then we requested inclusion of the SEAKER amendment into the plan. Without the SEAKER plan, charter operators in Alaska will suffer major losses of business. Can you market limits lower than one halibut per day? Can you face closed portions of the season for halibut? What will your halibut limited entry permit be worth if the limit is one halibut per day less than 32 inches?
    2. BUY/SELL your halibut permit for FREE. Check out the SEAGO Moratorium permit information exchange Bulletin Board.
    3. Limited Entry/Moratorium Leasing issue – A proposed change to disallow lease of LEP permits is on the table.
    4. SEAGO continues to work on the SEAKER amendment to the catch share plan. A more detail explanation of our plan is discussed below. This month, the Environmental Defense Fund signed on with a commitment of people and resources to help us implement our pilot program, we continued our outreach to industry groups throughout Alaska, and we advanced our “Money & Mandate” efforts in Washington DC.
  • Pacific Salmon Treaty Mitigation Fund - this program is scheduled for rollout before the end of the year and makes $7.5M available for enhancement programs. The charter business community is eligible.

  • News from Around the Web – More than 30 articles this month that matter to you.

  • Our funds are critically low again - We need your financial support now - Please join the growing roster of SEAGO members by taking advantage of our installment payment program. Choose the plan that fits your budget and ensure your rights are being fought for every day.

SEAGO goes to bat for you every day and the issues our industry faces have never been more dire. But it’s expensive and we have had to extend our efforts to Washington DC, Juneau and elsewhere.  Please show your support with your membership contribution. 

We have a flexible payment plan, a reduced fee option, and a convenient online payment capability.

Please Donate Now!
http://www.seagoalaska.org/ join_signup.asp
No other organization accomplishes as much for you.

We want to hear from you -Thanks for taking the time to read through our monthly newsletters. SEAGO works hard to keep you up-to-date on key issues affecting charter and lodge owners. As always, we sincerely appreciate your feedback and comments.

Please feel free to forward this newsletter to other interested parties or email John Blair john@seagoalaska.org to be added to our mailing list.

 

 

Alaska Department of Fish and Game Updates

Commissioner Denby Lloyd has announced his retirement. Two related articles are:
http://www.adn.com/2010/09/17/1459487/fish-and-game-commissioner-to.html#ixzz0zqF9qo1G
and http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/100410/loc_715713175.shtml

A nominating committee has been formed and SEAGO welcomes your input for naming his successor. This committee will compile candidates and forward them to the Governor for final nominations. The nominee will then go thru an extensive vetting process and final sign-off by the AK legislature.

 

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Board of Fisheries

  1. The Board of fisheries will kick off its season in October with a planning session in Kenai on October 13-14. Their full schedule is here: http://www.boards.adfg.state.ak.us/fishinfo/meetinfo/fcal.php

  2. The 2010/2011 proposal book is now available online here: http://www.boards.adfg.state.ak.us/fishinfo/meetinfo/fprop.php

 

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Halibut Issues

1. North Pacific Fisheries Management Council

SEAGO attended the October NPFMC meeting in Anchorage.  We wrote in advance about the devastating impacts of the upcoming halibut Catch Share Plan, a copy is here and a copy of our testimony is here.  While our testimony was well received, the Council decided to take no action on our SEAKER proposal.  This outcome was completely expected and in no way limits our ongoing efforts. See SEAKER update below for more details on next steps

2. Buy/Sell your Moratorium Permits Here! – The FREE buy/sell information exchange is very active. Check it out here: http://www.seagoalaska.org/bboard/bboard_index.asp.  Guides and lodge owners who need to purchase or sell transferrable permits can post their requirements on this easy-to-use bulletin board.

3.  Limited Entry/Moratorium Leasing issue – A proposed change to disallow lease of LEP permits was developed by NMFS and is found here: http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/npfmc/current_issues/halibut_issues/MoratoriumLeasing410motion.pdf

  1. At issue is the possibility that non-transferrable permits may not be retired when the guide stops offering trips but rather continues to lease his permit to others.
  2. There may also be some issues around industry consolidation however it is unclear that this is a problem due to the 5 permit cap restriction.
Please forward your comments to us, john@seagoalaska.org

4.  SEAGO continues work on the Southeast Alaska Economic Recovery (SEAKER) Halibut Management Plan – We recently updated the summary of the SEAKER plan, a copy is here. Key program benefits are:

  • Ensures sustainability of the halibut resource through accountability.
  • Works within the current catch share plan.
  • Creates a manageable two-way inter-sector transfer mechanism.
  • Permits free-market and economically driven allocation shares between sectors.
  • Compatible with charter fishing business models.

From the beginning our goal has been to create a “Triple-C” win, benefiting charter operators, commercial fishermen, and the communities where we live and work. We announced recommendations for improvement in January, 2010, copy here and have taken a pragmatic approach to solving these critical industry problems.

Throughout the year we have gained support from congressional leaders, regulators, and other stakeholders.  Consistently our plan has received favorable feedback and endorsement. Our innovative two-way inter-sector allocation transfer mechanism offers a new approach to fisheries management. Rather than attempting to shoe-horn the charter fishing industry into a comfish business model and regulation, the SEAKER amendment creates a way for the two sectors to co-exist in a non-threatening manner.

In September, the Environmental Defense Fund, www.edf.org committed resources to help us get the SEAKER pilot implemented in Alaska.  Please recall that EDF is the primary architect of catch shares around the country and has led development efforts on a national level working directly with NOAA and other agencies. They recognized that catch share plans in general have not adequately addressed the charter industry and believe that SEAKER represents a viable solution to the problem. Their goal is to use our pilot program as a model that can be adapted to other fisheries within the country.  

At the October NPFMC meeting we requested that the catch share plan be amended to include the SEAKER program but the council chose to take no action.  This was an anticipated result and no way affects our plans. We continue our tops-down efforts to get the plan adopted.

Finally we believe that adoption of SEAKER will further demonstrate Alaska’s leading approach to fisheries management and has application in other areas of the country. For a long time Alaska has been a leader in fisheries management and our proposal is offered in that tradition.

We continue to solicit broad industry support and input for our SEAKER program through small group meetings and will report ongoing progress in upcoming newsletters and special reports. For a more detail explanation and to provide your input, please contact John Blair directly, john@seagoalaska.org

Catch Sharing General information

  • The final Catch Share Plan regulations were updated in September, 2010. You can read them here: http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/npfmc/current_issues/halibut_issues/HalibutCSP_regs.pdf

  • In a communication earlier this year, NMFS has indicated a revised implementation date of 2012 for this program. However testimony at the October, 2010 meeting indicated a desire to accelerate timing for implementation. We will keep you informed as we receive additional updates.

 

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Pacific Salmon Treaty Mitigation Fund – $7.5M in grants is available for salmon enhancement to both commercial and sport fishers.  The Alaska State Commerce Department will manage the program which is expected to rollout in December. Any person or charter organization can apply for grants up to $100k to improve our king salmon fishery. Look for details in our next newsletter for how to apply. For now please begin thinking about programs that you would like to see funded. Please contact John Blair directly (john@seagoalaska.org) with your questions and ideas.

 

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Save Alaska Sportfishing Campaign – SEAGO is building a coalition with recreational anglers to make our combined voice more effective.  Hundreds of individual sportfishers from all over the world have already joined. More information about the program is here and http://www.seagoalaska.org/documents/SportfisherFlyer.pdf

We have developed a multipoint communication program to get your customers involved. It’s easy to implement (less than an hour of your time), doesn’t cost you anything, and angler feedback shows that it enhances your reputation with your clients. Please contact John Blair, john@seagoalaska.org  right away for details.

 

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SEAGO Membership - Will you please help us now?

Especially during tough times, our great nation has shown time again that our sense of community reaches out beyond our doorstep to help in many ways.By joining SEAGO you can:

  • Protect your business from unfair regulations, policies, and external threats.

  • Ensure that your voice will be heard loud and clear to state and federal regulators.

  • Help us keep the lights on and provide you with an expanding base of services.

To see how your contributions are used you can view our prior results and our 2010 plans here: http://www.seagoalaska.org/documents/SEAGO-2010-Membership.pdf. Your membership fees are the engine that fuels this effort.

If you haven’t sent in your 2010 membership dues, now is the time. We have a flexible payment plan, a reduced fee option, and a convenient online payment capability. 

Please Donate Now!
http://www.seagoalaska.org/ join_signup.asp
No other organization accomplishes as much for you.

It only takes a minute to donate online now: http://www.seagoalaska.org/join_signup.asp  Thank you in advance for your continued support.

 

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News From Around the Web

SEAGO searches the Internet for articles that have relevance to Alaska sportfishing. Please forward any interesting articles you find to John Blair john@seagoalaska.org  and we will publish them in our next newsletter. Note that some of the links are time sensitive and may be non-functional by the time you receive this newsletter; we apologize in advance.

Finally, please understand that SEAGO does not necessarily agree the contents of any of these articles.  Here are some recent stories we found around the internet:

NOAA Releases 2009 Fisheries Data: Landings down by half a billion dollars. – http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/st1/fus/fus09/index.html

What would you trade for salmon? - http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/090110/let_702959968.shtml

It’s been a big salmon year - Alaska's salmon catch has blown past pre-season predictions and there is still a lot of fishing left to go http://www.capweek.com/stories/090110/bus_702977747.shtml

MSC not protecting resource - An international program run by the Marine Stewardship Council is "failing" to protect the environment and needs radical reform - http://www.timescolonist.com/technology/Seafood+labels+slammed/3473032/story.html#ixzz0yO42ypf4

NOAA cuts 'common pool' limits in half in N/E – Important reason to not allow in-season management regulations - http://www.gloucestertimes.com/local/x752936758/NOAA-cuts-common-pool-limits-in-half

Secretary Locke Extends Disaster Declaration for California Salmon Fishermen - http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2010/20100902_salmon.html

Alaska 'goes on the offensive over stellar sea lions - all-out fight with the feds over what Parnell  perceives as misuse of the Endangered Species Act. - http://www.alaskadispatch.com/dispatches/politics/6675-alaska-goes-on-the-offensive-over-endangered-species-act

Reducing salmon to a mere commodity - For 150 years, fish managers have assumed that hatchery fish can rebuild declining runs of wild salmon and steelhead. Little thought has been given to wild fish conservation, and hatchery fish spawning naturally in the same streams with wild fish has been considered a plus. - http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2010/08/when_salmon_are_a_mere_commodi.html

Unflattering editorial on Lubchenco & Catch Shares - “..The ardor of Environmental Defense graduates now running NOAA to convert the wild schools into tradeable stock attractive to Wall Street traders has sparked a national resistance..” - http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/8/28/173125/764
Progress of Catch Shares in New England – EDF article - http://blogs.edf.org/edfish/2010/09/01/3-months-in-new-bedford-standard-times-proivdes-insight-into-the-progress-of-catch-shares-in-new-england/

California State may rescue ailing salmon industry - http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/State-may-rescue-ailing-salmon-industry-102318559.html

Global Salmon Farming increasing - The Oslo-based company expects global supply to drop 5 percent to 8 percent this year and then recover, expanding by 8 percent to 10 percent in 2011 - http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/09/06/bloomberg1376-L8BFAP0UQVI901-5SKGRRQAON023B40TVTQ144RGM.DTL#ixzz0yx7p7GMJ

Commercial fishermen thanked Governor Parnell for taking a strong position on the Endangered Species Act regarding Stellar sea lions. - http://www.sitnews.us/0910news/090710/090710_fishermen.html

Discovery in NOAA suit - to understand why the agency was so committed to ensuring the selection and imposition of a particular fishing management system known to cause serious and widespread harm, particularly when poorly designed and implemented in an unduly rushed manner without proper consideration of the alternatives, as in the case here, when such a system in itself does nothing to conserve fish or ensure optimum yields and when such system required state of the art, 'real time' data collection systems which did not exist. - http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100910/NEWS/9100332

Halibut numbers keep going down – Comfish lbs down but prices doubled and the most commonly caught halibut 20 years ago was a 15-year-old female caught around Kodiak Island. It would likely weigh around 100 pounds. "Now that same age fish caught in the same area is 70 percent smaller," he said. - http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/091010/loc_706203870.shtml

State of Alaska has 30 days to consider Kookesh subsistence ruling - consider whether to appeal a decision dismissing charges of fishing in excess of subsistence-use salmon permits against state Sen. Albert Kookesh. http://www.newsminer.com/pages/full_story/push?article-State+of+Alaska+has+30+days+to+consider+Kookesh+subsistence+ruling%20&id=9501629&instance=homenews_window_left_top_1

U.S. Seafood Consumption Declines Slightly in 2009 - About 84 percent of the seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported - http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100913164659.htm

Expanding threat of dead zones in U.S. coastal waters - oxygen levels drop so low that fish and other animals are stressed or killed -- have increased nearly 30-fold since 1960. - http://www.chem.info/News/Feeds/2010/09/topics-alternative-energy-expanding-threat-of-hypoxia-in-us-coastal-waters/

Fisheries worth $246B worldwide - http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/09/14/fisheries-global-value.html#ixzz0zbvgsEHy

Nationally, U.S. fisheries down - Despite unmatched natural assets, America's heavily-regulated fisheries continued to underperform in global competition, with landings down a bit more in 2009 - http://www.gloucestertimes.com/local/x187428067/Fishing-data-shows-2-2-billion-added-to-trade-deficit

Arctic sea ice shrinks to third lowest area on record - http://www.physorg.com/news203789697.html

Fish and Game commissioner Denby Lloyd to retire ahead of DUI trial: http://www.adn.com/2010/09/17/1459487/fish-and-game-commissioner-to.html#ixzz0zqF9qo1G

$5 million in Yukon River disaster relief coming - The U.S. commerce secretary says the money will provide financial assistance to salmon fishermen and will pay for gillnet gear designed to let more adult female Chinook swim upriver to spawn. - http://www.commerce.gov/news/press-releases/2010/09/17/us-commerce-secretary-gary-locke-announces-5-million-yukon-river-chin

Lloyd warns of federal bite into wildlife management: http://www.adn.com/2010/09/18/1460814/lloyd-warns-of-federal-bite-into.html#ixzz1067wQhQc

State asks to reinstate senator's citation for excessive fishing - The state has asked a court to reconsider the dismissal of charges of excessive fishing against state Sen. Albert Kookesh: http://www.adn.com/2010/09/19/1462213/state-asks-to-reinstate-citation.html#ixzz1069f37Qr

Example of negative impact of in-season mgmt.. If this happened to sport sector, we would be in deep trouble. - http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=b5nrgsdab&v=001SBtHnIBAttMEAZ1mV68rgc732vQ9_UhfcwqGI2Eo6CiDJGg3XQ0GjbsS_OdrDWf6ugO7CTp3sqsF2f5fTbkxy_iw8GHRdblEWoKjs9CkFlYwKH1x-uPMpHy87LOKOng1

Too many hooks in the water. Working from small pole-and-line boats to giant industrial trawlers, fishermen remove more than 170 billion pounds of wildlife a year from the seas. A new study suggests that our current appetite could soon lead to a worldwide fisheries collapse. - http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/10/seafood-crisis/greenberg-text

Boycott of Cook Inlet oil - Five conservation groups said they will boycott the citizen group created by Congress to watch over Cook Inlet's oil and gas industry. http://www.adn.com/2010/09/24/1470662/environmental-groups-threaten.html#ixzz10kAgKKYB

Just how bad are Alaska demerits? - You might know that a violation of Alaska's commercial fishing regulations can earn you "demerit points." http://deckboss.blogspot.com/2010/09/got-demerit-points.html

Consumer confidence sank 4.7 points to 48.5  in September -- its lowest level since February -- as Americans remain concerned about the weak job market and have become more pessimistic about the economy's longer-term outlook: http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/consumer-confidence-plunges-in-september-on-job-market-concerns/19651387/?icid=sphere_copyright

Scott McAdams Advertisement – Certainly comfish oriented - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrdqxMOiwzs&feature=player_embedded#!

Lubchenco controversial administrator - career environmental activist and author of a cap-and-trade plan for America’s fisheries, is the most controversial director ever to run the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columns/special-editorial-reports/An-Iron-Triangle-based-in-NOAA-is-killing-the-US-fishing-industry-103963509.html 

Hatchery fish one-third of Alaska catch - Hatchery-raised fish in Prince William Sound accounted for about 30 percent of the statewide salmon harvest this year, a new economic study shows - http://www.alaskadispatch.com/dispatches/economy/7003-study-shows-hatchery-fish-have-big-impact

Genetically modified salmon safe to eat, FDA report says - http://articles.latimes.com/2010/sep/03/nation/la-na-fda-salmon-20100904
and
Begich Says “Frankenfish” Unacceptable  http://begich.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=bb7fc651-f892-401b-ae47-956b93beaab6
And
TU takes a strong stand on Genetically modified Salmon - tell the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) not to approve genetically modified salmon for human consumption. http://takeaction.tu.org/c.ntJSJ8MPIqE/b.6235615/k.847/Protect_Wild_Salmon/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?auid=6991934
And

US delays approval for fast-growing genetically modified salmon - http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_round_up/605861/us_delays_approval_for_fastgrowing_gm_salmon.html

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