Call to action: Save ADFG Funding

ata

2013-03-04 06:13:11

To Southeast/Yakutat Commercial Fishermen,

CALL TO ACTION

GOAL

Reinstate essential funding to ADFG that could dramatically impact the spring troll fishery, seafood marketing, and much, much more!

OVERVIEW

The House Finance Committee is scheduled to take action on their operating budget (HB65) recommendations this week. There will be public testimony Tuesday and Wednesday, submission of amendments by COB Tuesday, and voting on amendments March 12-13. Then it goes to the House floor.

Subcommittees have:

1. Proposed cutting $550K from the SE Region Comfish budget that will impact essential agency programs, such as:

a. Port sampling programs to evaluate net and troll effort and salmon run timing. THIS MEANS CWT DATA and more!

b. Genetic stock identification work on US/Canada sockeye and Chatham Strait sockeye.

c. Chinook biometric analysis in support of US/Canada Salmon Treaty negotiators - A MUST HAVE AT TREATY!

2. Failed to take action to add $165K to the Governors ADFG budget base to improve funding for aerial surveys. IMPORTANT FOR CHECKING ESCAPEMENT AND ASSESSING EFFORT INSEASON - ESSENTIAL DURING SUMMER CHINOOK and COHO FISHERY.

3. Proposed cutting $1M from the ASMI budget. OBVIOUS IMPLICATIONS FOR SEAFOOD MARKETING

ACTION NEEDED

1. By Wednesday March 6 (sooner is better) contact your local Representative by phone or email (info below) or House Finance Committee members and let them know you want the ADFG and ASMI cuts restored and that you want $165K added to the budget so there is adequate funding for aerial surveys for Southeast. Failure to provide an adequate ADFG budget puts the Southeast economy at risk. In 2011, 1,967 Southeast active permit holders earned $192 million in ex-vessel value for salmon and this resulted in a 1st wholesale value of $497 million.

a. Be sure to ID yourself as a commercial fishermen and your dependence on proper state management of salmon.

2. Testify to the House Finance Committee (2 minute limit)

a. Tuesday March 5 (1:30-5:30PM)

i. 1:30 - 2:30pm Juneau** Arrive 15 minutes early to expedite sign in.

ii. 2:45-3:45pm Cordova, Offnets (Bethel, Kotzebue, Nome, Valdez & Wrangell)* * LIO's in these communities will publish call-in number via public outreach or call LIO for info.

b. Wednesday March 6 (1;30-5:15PM)

i. 3:00 - 4:00pm Sitka, Petersburg, Barrow, Dillingham, Unalaska & Delta Junction

We expect this will be an ongoing issue until the Legislature takes final action on the budget, so use every opportunity to educate you Legislators on the importance of salmon to the SE economy. SE fishing groups are coordinating their efforts on this issue.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Representative Alan Austerman (Kodiak, Yakutat). Co-Chair, House Finance

Representative.Alan.Austerman@akleg.gov

(907) 465-2487

Toll-Free: 800-865-2487

Representative Beth Kerttula (Juneau downtown, Petersburg). House Minority Leader

Representative.Beth.Kerttula@akleg.gov

907-465-4766

Toll-Free: 877-465-4766

Representative Jonathan Kreis-Tomkins (Sitka, Haines)

Representative.Jonathan.Kreiss-Tomkins@akleg.gov

907-465-3732

Toll-Free: 888-461-3732

Representative Cathy Muñoz (Juneau valley). House Finance Committee.

Representative.Cathy.Munoz@akleg.gov

907-465-3744

Toll-Free: 800-968-6744

Representative Peggy Wilson (Wrangell, Ketchikan)

Representative.Peggy.Wilson@akleg.gov

907-465-3824

Toll-Free: 800-686-3824

Salty

2013-03-04 17:41:40

Dale,

Thank you, I will bring it up at the NSRAA Board meeting. (A long rant on some fishermen getting what they deserve for supporting this crop of legislators deleted.)

akfisher1978

2013-03-05 00:31:02

Called Cathy Munoz office today and expressed my thoughts and they acted as if the never heard of any of this?

Kelper

2013-03-05 02:25:11

Nancy at Jonathan's office in Sitka was very receptive to my call and my concerns. Light up the phones.

ata

2013-03-05 02:27:20

Can anyone read me out there? I wrote a response twice, but neither one made it to the board...

Dale

ATA

ata

2013-03-05 02:30:58

Giving up for now... another post written and lost. I gotta move on.

If this makes it - thanks akfisher(!!). And do what Kelper says - light up the lines!

No Surrender...

Dale

ATA

fssem1

2013-03-05 02:35:00

Where is the meeting in Juneau tomorrow for public testimony?

ata

2013-03-05 03:10:20

Here's the details:

Alaska Legislature House Finance Committee

Mar 05 Tuesday 1:30 PM Room 519

=+HB 65 APPROP: OPERATING BUDGET/LOANS/FUNDS TELECONFERENCED

-- Public Testimony --

Can also go to the AK Legislative webpage for information on watching the hearing, or signing up to testify.

~~[url=~~http://w3.legis.state.ak.us/index.php][url]http://w3.legis.state.ak.us/index.php

Dale

ATA

mydona

2013-03-05 18:00:15

Kinda fun ending the letter by listing the organizations I belong to and reminding them I Vote Fish!

ata

2013-03-05 19:51:07

Hi All:

Good suggestion, mydona!

If your spring fishery or maximizing summer Chinook and coho time isn't important, then just ignore this. Otherwise, we need your help! Read on...

House Finance will be working on ADFG budget for the next two days starting today in committee at 1:30pm - please try to attend and testify ... 2 min limit - it goes fast! See my other posting on this site, where I provided a lot of info about making legislative contact - or go to the legislative homepage, where you can get info about patching into a teleconference, or at least watch the proceedings at 1:30pm today (Tues): ~~[url=~~http://w3.legis.state.ak.us/][url]http://w3.legis.state.ak.us/

IMPORTANT: please email the attached letter to the SE legislators and Rep. Bill Stoltze, with any thoughts you have about this matter. Just copy and paste the signatures below and attach the letter - EASY! At minimum, tell them you support the other industry folks letter on this matter. If you see a business that should be on there, send them the letter and ask them to contact ATA and sign on. We can add them when the letter is sent to the Senate, etc. There is already at least one buyer,Triad Fisheries, who will be on there next time, so don't pester Mark Freezer Dudes...I already did.=)

Email letter and comments to:

Rep.Bill.Stoltze@akleg.gov, Senator.Dennis.Egan@akleg.gov, Senator.Bert.Stedman@akleg.gov, Senator.Gary.Stevens@akleg.gov, Representative.Alan.Austerman@akleg.gov, Representative.Beth.Kerttula@akleg.gov, Representative.Jonathan.Kreiss-Tomkins@akleg.gov, Representative.Cathy.Munoz@akleg.gov, Representative.Peggy.Wilson@akleg.gov

We need to nip this in the bud in the House and also work to get Senate support, so be watching this sight for your next mission.

Thanks for your time!

dk

ata

2013-03-06 20:07:34

~~[url=~~http://www.kfsk.org/2013/03/05/assembly-to-weigh-in-against-adfg-cuts/][url]http://www.kfsk.org/2013/03/05/assembly-to-weigh-in-against-adfg-cuts/

Assembly to weigh-in against ADFG cuts

by kfskadmin

March 5, 2013 8:15 am

The Petersburg Borough Assembly will join fishing groups to speak out against proposed cuts to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s budget.

Petersburg Vessel Owners Association Director Brian Lynch told the assembly on Monday that a House Finance Subcommittee had recommended a 550 thousand dollar reduction from the Governor’s proposed budget for the Commercial Fisheries Division in Southeast. At a minimum, he said the decrease would impact port sampling programs which are used to help manage the region’s salmon fisheries. Lynch, who is a retired, state fishery manager, said spring king salmon trolling is especially at risk since it’s highly dependent on port sampling data.

“The department at this time doesn’t really know exactly what the total impacts will be but (they) likely will result in severe reductions in harvests or could eventually result in the complete closure of that fishery depending on how this goes. The spring troll fishery is generally a three to four million dollar fishery in ex-vessel value and about five-and-a-half million in first wholesale value. So, basically the effect on the Southeast economy of these cuts would basically save a dime but would lose a dollar,” said Lynch.

Lynch said the loss of port sampling funds would also directly affect the regions net fisheries and have ripple effects on management of other species. The money had been included in the Governor’s budget to make up for a loss of federal funding. Statewide, the subcommittee is recommending over a million and a half dollars in cuts to the department’s budget. There’s also a proposed reduction of a million dollars to the Alaska Seafood Marketing institute on the table.

Lynch didn’t ask for action, but the Assembly voted unanimously to send a letter to lawmakers and the Governor objecting to the potential cuts.

The House Finance Committee is taking public testimony on the operating Budget at various times this week. Petersburg area residents have an opportunity to comment between three and four on Wednesday.