On habitat, five former Fish and Game commissioners wrote Murkowski to vocalize their opposition to the governor's plan -- which would shift project permitting from the department's habitat division to DNR, likely costing a substantial number of habitat jobs at Fish and Game. The governor, at a press conference held Monday, defended his plan and read from a letter of support from Bob Thorstensen, president of the United Fishermen of Alaska. That UFA would support such a change was a surprise to Buck Laukitis, president of the North Pacific Fisheries Association. Thorstensen's position, which was apparently backed by an informal straw poll of UFA's executive committee, marks a change in direction from the group, which opposed a similar move when lawmakers took up the Forest Practices Act in 1989, Laukitis said. Laukitis, an Area M permit-holder, said the North Pacific Fisheries Association is opposed to taking permitting authority away from Fish and Game. "If it's an institutional management problem (within Fish and Game) that's fine, then fix it as a institutional management problem. Don't just throw out the whole system," Laukitis said. The five former Fish and Game commissioners -- Frank Rue, Carl Rosier, Don Collinsworth, Ron Skoog and Jim Brooks -- said in their joint letter that the switch to DNR would spell environmental trouble for Alaska's fisheries. "You only have to look south to see how many salmon and trout runs have been destroyed or endangered by thoughtless development -- the kind of careless development that will occur without ADF&G authority for in-stream permitting," the letter stated. Since healthy habitat is essential for healthy fisheries, many fishermen see the change as a threat. In bleak economic times, fishermen see sustainable fisheries and sound habitat management as a major source of hope, Laukitis said.
The North Pacific Fisheries Association also took a stand against the federal oil and gas lease sales proposed for lower Cook Inlet that are currently up for public comment. NPFA sent a resolution to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly urging the borough (and the state) to oppose the sales. Nonetheless, the borough assembly, on a 7-2 vote, passed a resolution in support of the lease sales at its Tuesday meeting in Soldotna. (See story, Page 1.) Laukitis said there is strong opposition to offshore oil development among Alaska's fishermen because many were involved in cleaning up after the Exxon Valdez disaster in 1989. "It's a matter of risk," he said. "We know we can't deal with an oil spill (in Cook Inlet) where we have 30- to 35-foot tides. You can't contain it." But not all fishing industry groups have opposed the lease sales. United Cook Inlet Drift Association executive director Roland Maw testified to employees of the federal Minerals Management Service in Kenai on Jan. 25 that UCIDA supported the sales. "This support is in recognition that, for over 30 years, we as fishermen have successfully fished while many oil and gas developments have occurred both on land and in the waters of Cook Inlet," Maw's prepared testimony read. UCIDA's support is qualified by requests that commercial fishermen be allowed to have a say on how the development of leased sites is pursued. Laukitis wondered if UCIDA's position could be attributed to the number of fishermen who had been forced to supplement their income with jobs in Alaska's oil patch. "Salmon-only fishermen are hurting," he said. "It's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe they do need to do a bit of moonlighting." Laukitis said he didn't like to envision a future where oil jobs replaced fishing for a living. "We really think we can turn this industry around and make it viable again," he added. "We're not willing to roll over and give up."
With an army of lawyers assembled for the Bristol Bay price-fixing trial in Anchorage (the courtroom literally had to be enlarged to accommodate them), Homer-area fishermen who have a stake in the potential $1 billion class-action lawsuit are simply biding their time. The lawsuit, which went to court on Monday, was filed in the mid-1990s and charges that fish processors and their Japanese buyers conspired from 1991-95 to fix sockeye salmon prices. Bristol Bay driftnetter Mark Monroe said although he was following the trial, he was somewhat detached from a process he said had been pushed forward largely on the initiative of the lawyers. Some fishermen have voiced fears that a judgement for the plaintiffs could bankrupt the processors and sink Bristol Bay's market. The Anchorage Daily News reported that some 150 of the more than 5,000 fishermen named in the lawsuit have opted out even though several big fish-packing firms already agreed to settle the case. State Sen. Ben Stevens, R-Anchorage, blasted the case in Sunday's Daily News, saying it could spell the end of the commercial salmon fishing industry. Stevens, who fished Bristol Bay for 15 years, opted out of the lawsuit last week. Monroe, whose entire family travels from Homer each summer to fish near Egegik, said he didn't see the potential for fatal harm to the market. "A large part of the market is Japanese, and that's pretty much gutted as it is," he said. Officials with Icicle Seafoods did not respond to requests for an interview.
HALIBUT FISHERMEN ARE NEEDED for the 2003 International Pacific Halibut Commission stock assessment charters. Longline vessels are needed to conduct setline surveys from the southern Oregon border to the northern Bering Sea. Areas 2A, 2B, 2C, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B and 4D have been divided up into 27 regions and each will require between 14 and 23 days of fishing plus additional time for running, foul weather and loading and offloading gear and fish. Vessel owners interested in surveys should submit bids based upon standard IPHC contract structure. For more information, contact Claude Dykstra (ext. 213), Kelly Van Wormer (ext. 202), or Heather Gilroy (ext. 206) at the IPHC office in Seattle (206-643-1838).
THE CHILEAN SENATE approved a free trade agreement with the European Union this week that proponents say will give Chile greater access to European markets while allowing EU countries to access the country's rich fishing grounds.
Chilean President Ricardo Lagos is expected to sign the agreement -- hammered out with EU trade negotiators last spring -- within the next few days, according to the Web site for Fish Information and Services (www.fis.com). Members of the Chilean commercial fishing industry say they are concerned that new fisheries agreements may compromise the country's maritime sovereignty, despite presidential assurances that this is not going to happen. When he traveled to Europe in May last year to sign the agreement, Lagos said European fishermen would have access to Chilean catch quotas only if they worked in partnership with local fishing companies.
MARINE SAFETY AND SEAMANSHIP will be the focus of a class at the Smoky Bay Learning Center, starting tonight. The class, which is for people high school aged and up, will include a pool session and open water test. Tuition is $200 plus $27 for materials. Students completing the course will receive certification recognized by the state as well as the U.S. Coast Guard. For more information, call Martie Kruhn at 235-8678.
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