Many fishermen get around this by transferring additional permits to a family member or crew member, which would allow them to fish through the peak of the season in Bristol Bay, for example, which is generally around the first week in July, and then move to Cook Inlet, where the peak of the run is usually mid-July.

The proposal before the Board of Fisheries, tendered by Dominic Lee, would allow vessels to register in multiple salmon fisheries, and allow an individual to own and operate multiple salmon permits in different areas with different gear types on the same vessel.

In “Department Comments,” the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has said it is neutral on the proposal. It says that limited entry ensures that permit numbers within each area are fixed; however, participation levels, and thus competition, in some fisheries might increase if latent permits are used as a result of the proposal. Also, by creating a new market for latent permits, permit values in affected fisheries may increase. In addition, the cost of owning and maintaining multiple vessels in order to participate in more than one salmon fishery might be reduced by adoption of the proposal.

There is also a board-generated proposal that would prohibit the importation and release of live fish, which is meant to address problems with invasive species.

The board notes that state regulations are not current with federal regulations on prohibitions of invasive species. This change would bring the state more in line with federal rules.

Invasive species have created havoc in some lakes and streams in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, where northern pike have been illegally stocked in areas where they do not occur naturally. Pike have the capability of decimating salmon and trout populations and can change the entire makeup of the fish species in the waterways and ecosystems they invade.

One of the supplemental issues the board will address at the upcoming meeting is transporting live fish, a topic that comes up regularly. With the exception of a statute that allows the shipment of live crab out of Alaska, there are no regulations involving the live shipments of any other species taken in commercial, sport or subsistence fisheries. This department-generated proposal would create a new regulation.

Fish and Game states that there has been an increase in applications to ship live fish out of Alaska, and it believes a statewide regulation requiring a commissioner’s permit is necessary to allow the commissioner the discretionary authority to control the species and areas of specific concern. In addition, it is necessary to put into regulation when and where the fish ticket on live shipments would be filled out, and who is responsible for the fish ticket.

The meeting takes place at the Millennium Hotel, located at 4800 Spenard Road in Anchorage. Proposals, department comments, and the meeting agenda can be found online at http://www.boards.adfg.state.ak.us/.

Cristy Fry has commercial fished in Homer since 1978. She also designs and builds gear for the industry and longlines for halibut and gillnets salmon in upper Cook Inlet. She can be reached at cristy-fry@excite.com.