For the fourth year in a row, the Alaska Marine Safety Education Association is offering mini-grants to help fund marine and boating safety training and education projects in Alaska. These grants are intended to increase or enhance safety training and education for high-risk groups such as commercial fishermen or children, and are available only to AMSEA-trained educators and instructors who are actively teaching or supporting boating or cold-water safety. Locally available AMSEA instructor Anna Borland-Ivy will work with interested parties to develop grant proposals to meet the criteria and provide training. She can be reached at 299-0810 or 235-5955 after Jan. 20.

Grants are limited to a maximum of $4,000 per project. Proposals for less than $4,000 are encouraged to allow for the funding of a variety of projects. A team of AMSEA staff and board members will review all proposals. Applicants are encouraged to apply for projects that will help train new AMSEA instructors in underserved areas of Alaska. Travel expenses, tuition and other support may be requested for AMSEA’s Marine Safety Instructor Training or Youth Educator workshops. Previously trained AMSEA instructors or educators are welcome.

Mini-grants will be awarded for projects to be completed within 12 months unless otherwise arranged. Grant applications must be received at AMSEA’s Sitka office no later than 5 p.m. Jan. 31. Proposals sent via e-mail are preferred to facilitate reviews.

Proposal guidelines are available online at amsea.org/index.html or by calling AMSEA at (907) 747-3287.

The Board of Fisheries made two changes to the 2006 meeting schedule when it met via teleconference last week.

The first change reschedules consideration of a proposal to create a state-waters Pacific cod fishery in the Aleutian Islands area from the January meeting agenda to the February meeting agenda. The meeting takes place Feb. 20-26 in Ketchikan and also covers Southeast and Yakutat groundfish, Dungeness crab, shrimp and miscellaneous shellfish. The Board of Fisheries received a request from the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council to delay its consideration of Aleutian Islands Pacific cod to allow time for a BOF and NPFMC joint meeting to discuss the issue. The BOF agreed to a joint meeting in early February. The joint meeting will take place in Anchorage at a date, time and place to be announced.

The second agenda change to the BOF winter schedule adds consideration of action in the halibut charter fisheries in Southeast and Southcentral to the March agenda. The Guideline Harvest Level, or GHL, for the charter fisheries in areas 2C and 3A have been exceeded in recent years, and while the NPFMC is reviewing options for limiting the fishery, the commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is also suggesting the state consider options to keep this fishery within its GHL. Items that the commissioner suggested be added to the agenda will be consideration of limiting the number of lines in the water to the number of customers on board the charter vessel, and limiting the retention of fish caught by skipper/crew when customers are onboard. NPFMC recently withdrew a hotly contested plan to implement an IFQ system for charter boats.

A full report to the BOF will be distributed at the January meeting, along with a suite of options for the BOF to consider in March. Public comments will be welcome. The meeting will take place in Anchorage March 17-25 at the Millennium Hotel, 4800 Spenard Road. The meeting also will take up proposals for statewide Dungeness crab, shrimp, miscellaneous shellfish and supplemental issues. A full proposal book and agenda can be found at the BOF Web site at www.boards.adfg.state.ak.us or can be requested by mail from the BOF office in Juneau at (907) 465-4110, or by faxing (907) 465-6094.

Cristy Fry has commercial fished in Homer since 1978. She also has designed and built gear for the industry. She currently longlines for halibut and sablefish and gillnets salmon in upper Cook Inlet aboard the F/V Realist.