The Board of Fisheries and the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission have developed and signed a memorandum of understanding which will go into effect upon passage of Senate Bill 113, a bill currently in the Legislature that would allow the board and the commission to establish a dedicated access privilege, or DAP, program for Gulf of Alaska groundfish in state waters (inside 3 miles). The memorandum of understanding urges the two bodies to continue to explore options other than limited access and describes a joint public process wherein the board and the commission work together to consider suggestions from the public as to which groundfish fisheries would qualify for DAP. Under steps laid out in the memorandum, the board will, "as soon as practicable, identify for the commission the particular fisheries the board believes to be most in need of immediate review. Similarly, the board will identify those fisheries the board believes do not require limited access at this time."

The memorandum stresses no fishery will be subject to limited entry without an express request from the participants in the fishery. It points out that in more than 20 years, the commission "has not proposed limitation of any fishery without a specific request from the public to do so, and the commission has turned down many requests it has received." The memorandum gives the board broad influence in the decision-making process, establishes guidelines for joint BOF/CFEC hearings and allows the BOF to review preliminary findings and proposals of the CFEC for any of the fisheries involved. The CFEC must fully consider and address any BOF comments in their final decisions on proposed regulations for a fishery.

SB113 has met some resistance and criticism, largely from the Kodiak jig fleet, for being too vague and giving the board and commission broad powers to limit fishery access without specific guidelines for how those powers can be used. Proponents claim that limits are necessary to keep the fleets small enough to be profitable, and that the board has a history of open public process in its decision-making and would not force fishery limits on a fleet that did not want them. Supporters also point out that the rationalization program in federal waters is moving forward and something must be done to protect the state-water fisheries from boats who are either left out of the federal program or who can catch their IFQs at any time, leaving them free to participate in an open-access fishery until the quota is caught.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has announced increased security procedures for all private boats crossing from Canada into the United States, meaning vessels traveling to and from Alaska can expect new rules. A new program, called I-68, will replace the old program, which allowed some 10,000 boaters who were registered in the system to be given personal identification numbers and report their arrival in the U.S. by phone. Reporting will still be allowed by phone for those who register for the new I-68 program, but participation requires each applicant — crew members and passengers, adults and children — to appear for an in-person interview at a Customs and Border Protection port of entry. U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, Canadian citizens and landed immigrants of Canada are eligible to apply for an I-68 seasonal boating permit, which is good for one year. The cost is $16 per person or $32 per family. Each person applying for an I-68 permit must undergo a criminal background check and submit to being photographed and fingerprinted. To expedite clearance across the border, private boaters are encouraged to apply for an I-68 permit before attempting their first trip. For more information, visit www.customs.gov/xp/cgov/travel/pleasure_boats/cbbl.xml or call (206) 553-0667.

The National Marine Fisheries Services will present a public workshop on the new Crab Rationalization Program for participants in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) king and Tanner crab fisheries May 9 in Seattle. At this workshop, NMFS will provide an overview of the program, discuss the key program elements, provide information on the application process, and answer questions. This workshop is specifically intended to address issues related to the arbitration system portion of the program. Elements related to economic data collection, monitoring and enforcement, electronic reporting, quota share and individual fishing quota application and transfer provisions, the appeals process, fee collection, and the loan program may be addressed secondarily. Additionally, NMFS will answer questions from workshop participants. The workshop will be held May 9 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Leif Erickson Hall, 2245 Northwest 57th Street, Seattle, WA. For further information, contact Sheela McLean at (907) 586-7032 or sheela.mclean@noaa.gov.

Cristy Fry has commercial fished in Homer since 1978, and has also 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.