Board of Fisheries Agenda for Finfish Feb 17--
Salty
2009-02-06 06:28:50
Salty
2009-02-06 06:31:50
Hi Folks,
I just wanted to make sure that you are connected on some of the evening events taking place in conjunction with the Feb. 17-26 Board of Fisheries meeting in Sitka. I'm not volunteering to be the official events coordinator, thinking that's best left to those of you there in Sitka, but I did want to share what I knew about scheduling and to the extent possible and contribute to the planning effort. I've spoken with several you already. On behalf of the board, I very much appreciate your willingness to invite the board members and other out-of-town staff. Here's what I've heard about so far.
Tue. Feb 17: Reception at the Sitka Sound Science Center 5:00-7:00 pm, hosted by Sitka Marine Stewardship Council, on edge of Sheldon Jackson campus in old hatchery building, walking distance from Centennial Hall, point of contact Tory Oconnell.
Also later that evening (6:00 pm), the Chamber is hosting a dinner for Sen. Lisa Murkowski at the Channel Club, advance tickets should be obtained from Sheila Finkenbinder at the Chamber (747-8604).
Wed. Feb 18: ADF&G is holding a pre-season business meeting with herring fishermen; point of contact Dave Gordon, ADF&G.
Thu. Feb 19: Sitka Chamber of Commerce reception. Place and details to be announced.
Fri. Feb 20: Alaska Trollers Association raffle, 7:00 pm at the Westmark, light snacks, no-host bar.
Sat. Feb 21: Tentatively - Southeast Alaska Guides Organization, 5:30-7:00 pm?, location TBA, reception, snacks and no-host bar, contact Seth Bone (738-7659)
Sun Feb 22: open
Mon. Feb 23: open
Tue. Feb 24: open
Wed. Feb 25: open
Thu. Feb 26: open
Also, I mentioned to some of you that one of the local high school sport teams may want to hold a fundraiser dinner or something along those lines. The Cordova swim team made a quick $1,100 one evening with spaghetti dinner back in December.
From Division of Boards
Carol W
2009-02-12 16:06:59
We need bodies in Sitka for this meeting, there will be no excuse for whining if people don't attend.
Salty
2009-02-13 00:16:54
Tom,
I am whining because my comments, which I brought down to ADF&G to be faxed over are not on the Received Comments list.
But, did trollers ever need an excuse to whine?
I have heard trollers whine because it was too sunny, too calm, too lonely, too quiet, too much feed, the fish were too big, the fish were too fiesty, the price was too high, and the deckhand on the adjacent boat's boobs were not adequately contained.
I am sure there will be whining about the upcoming BOF decisions, especially by those who don't participate.
Carol W
2009-02-13 16:07:49
Eric
You forget i have been dragging hooks for a long time and have learned from some of the best whiners and even perfected it some, I sign into this site in morning before boat work begins. And yesterday i awoke in a foul mood having to face more boat work and having heard from a number of guys who said they weren't coming to BOF so i decided to do what I do best yesterday and whine a little. I figured I had to practice a little in case it was needed next week.
A long time ago there was a group of us handtrolling in Cordova bay and we were scratching on some coho there was a guy who was not in the Rice Bag Navy we somehow let him know he should join us, which he did. One of the officers of the Navy started whining on the radio about how there weren't any fish in the bay and things were really bleak, this officer is renown for his ability to whine and he kept on going for the better part of an hour, all the while coho were being cranked up on the navy boats, but the crocidile tears continued. Pretty soon we noticed that John the guy we had invited to join us was steaming up the bay towards Craig, another officer called him and asked if John had a problem he said no, but the way Dave was whining he figured it was time to go find a better fishing hole. The officer broke the Rice Bag Navy code of ethics and told John yo get back there.
So as a confirmed whiner and trouble maker I am coming to Sitka to give my testimony and hope there are a lot of other guys there too.
And to those who don't show up they can feel more than welcome to finish plugging the screw holes and helping the corker on the Carol W.
Keep your hand on it
Ocean Harvester
2009-02-14 04:01:45
Salty
2009-02-14 06:04:20
"If we don't succeed in persuading the BOF to increase the sport allocation of Demersal Shelf Rockfish, (mostly Yelloweye), we will see sport fishing closures on the outer coast this summer.
Proposal 341, put forward by SEAGO, requests a shift in allocation of Demersal Shelf Rockfish for the sport fishery from 16% to 25%. This is a critical issue, especially for Sitka, P.O.W., and Elfin Cove charter operators, but is in the greater interest of Alaskans to allocate public resources in this way. A small shift between industries will avert a complete devastation to the tourism-based businesses and the charter fishing industry on the Outer Coast.
Even though the sport limits for DSR have already been drastically reduced, the sport fishery allocation in the Southeast Outside Subdistrict is simply too small to be met under normal fishing effort. Since DSR are an unavoidable bycatch of fishing for salmon and halibut, the BOF is confronted with a choice between shifting a small allocation from the commercial longline fishery to sport, or imposing time and area closures on all sport fishing, at least in the Southeast Outside Subdistrict. The latter choice would have disastrous effects on all charter businesses in these areas. We simply must convince the BOF to support the SEAGO proposal."
Promise?
yak2you2
2009-02-14 14:24:48
Nope, I can't support 341. As much as we all have friends who are respectful members of the charter boat industry, and communities that depend on them, they simply MUST recognize that it's time for limited entry. They don't have enough fish of any species to support the monster their industry has become, including DSR rockfish. They ask for concessions but offer none, thats not how it works. If we don't hold a hardline on limited entry for charter boats by refusing any help until it's implemented, 100% of the DSR quota won't be enough, or any other species for that matter. The threat of their growth rate is real, take a look at what it's done to the Halibut quota, king salmon and black cod are next. They have an illness that will be terminal to their industry, and everybody else's if it's not contained, allowing it to spread is not going to make things any better.
I oppose 341.
Salty
2009-02-15 19:04:05
Just to clarify. The quoted poistion is SEAGO'S not mine. I am just hoping that if the board does not support this proposal that the Department will impose closures as stated by the guides. I also post it here to illustrate the extremism of the comments. I have read almost every comment to the Board of Fisheries on the SE finfish proposals. The tenure of the guides comments is one of panic. Their industry is in trouble on a variety of fronts:
1) The economy is devastating bookings. Even the oldest and so far most successful lodges here in Sitka have notified some skippers that they are cutting back;
2) They are having to invest tens of thousands in lawyers and lobbyists to keep the halibut limit at two per client;
3) The reduction in King Salmon abundance and subsequent restrictions are really hurting;
4) The increasing carbon consciousness of people is reducing interest in the carbon guzzling SE saltwater sport fishery;
5) With the slot limits on ling cod, the restrictions on Chinook, the over under on halibut, etc. it has become a nightmare for most guides to produce like they used to;
6) The open hostility toward the guided sport industry, in Sitka in particular, but throughout SE Alaska, is wearing on both the clients and the guides. No one likes to be seen as a pariah.
My father helped pioneer the guided salt water sport fishery in SE out of Petersburg in the early 60's. There will always be a place for it in SE Alaska. But, the model has to be similar to the Boat Company, where sport fishing is just a small part of the SE experience. The era of SE Alaska as a destination to load up on hundreds of pounds of halibut, salmon, crabs, shrimp, rockfish, and lingcod is coming to an end. I remember asking an elderly gentleman on the boardwalk in Elfin Cove last fall how his trip was going.
"It is going great, I have my 400 pounds and I still have a day to fish."
The job for all of us who care about our SE communities, who genuinely want cordial, if not friendly, relations with our neighbors, is to protect ourselves and our resources from the collateral damage associated with the changes coming to the guided sport fishery. There is nothing anyone, even the Board of Fisheries, can do to prevent the changes and inevitable pain coming to the guided industry. As they suffer they will try desperately to increase their share of everything from Rockfish and Lingcod to halibut and salmon.
All of us who care about our communities, who care about our resources, who care about our opportunities to make a living as we have for decades, who care about our opportunities to catch a fish to eat like people in SE Alaska have for thousands of years need to be vigilant about making sure the Board of Fisheries understands the situation, our perspective, and their duty to minimize the collateral damage.
yak2you2
2009-02-16 04:52:38
I saw your quotes Salty, and I understand where your at. I was merely stating my position on prop. 341, and the problems associated with the guided sports fishery in general. I agree with what you said, "sportfishing" is for sport, if you wanna fill up your freezer, buy it from a commercial fisherman.
What I would add though, seems to be constantly left out. In my estimation the reduction of the halibut catch is only a stop gap, you can cut the bag limits on all species, but the charter fleet is still growing at an exponential rate. Anyone who wants to have a viable charter business should be begging for limited entry, and all other fisherman should be pushing for a limit to the number of charter boats too.
Monterey
2009-02-16 16:23:26
I'm new at this, do the issues you discuss here end up having some influence into California's regulations or legislation?
Capt. Midnite
2009-02-16 16:52:44
Monterey, I see you have a lot of questions about this business, I operated a troller named Compagno out of Sausalito for about 25yrs, a 40ft. monterey. I live in Shelter Cove now. I am planning to return to fishing soon. If there is any way I can help you out, I would be glad to do so. I have quite a bit of experience with wood boats in general, and montereys in particular. You can email me at jndalley@gmail.com. if you want.
kenboe
2009-02-17 23:09:51
Monterey, to answer you question, No, the issues related to the Alaska Fishery have no bearing on the socio-political climate of the California Fisheries except that some of the California fishermen may make the move to Alaska.
yak2you2
2009-02-19 01:18:13
It has been a very productive BOF meeting so far by my estimation, with a very easy atmosphere to work in. If there are commercial trollers reading on here who are not able to attend the meeting but have good thoughts they wish they could convey, now is the time to speak up. Maybe some of us who are here can pass your thoughts along for you.
farmed fish eater
2009-02-19 04:08:47
Yea sure lets slow down the (taxi's) on the water will help. But as we all know as the charter fleet crosses over to rental boats what are the options. How do we eliminate the influx of boats fishing that are under the radar so to speak and go un-guided there for with a marginal at best means of keeping good track of what is truly caught and taken. In some places other than Sitka we have no box tax at the aiport to monitor such activities, just a thought. As the economy fails to show any rise we can hope for a temporary set back in charter buisness to see what are the best means to a comprible solution to such issue's. After all if we took away the cabs would that mean we cant rent a car either. My point is that the charter captain himself is not the problem they are taking someone to fish for their state allowed fishing limit. We need the State to keep the alllocation to sport level hartvest to a better guidline, maybe a harvest size limit on halibut 40-70 lbs. would help. These are just a few personal thoughts.
Salty
2009-02-19 18:27:28
From my perspective a big part of the problem is the guided sport fishery is trying to lump themselves with the overall non-guided sport fishery. They are two different sectors. They need to be managed differently.
You are right that there is an emerging problem with the unguided rental boats and services emerging, but that is a unique problem that needs to be addressed specifically. Not at the same time or as the same problem as the guided sport fishery.
Politics 101 seems to me to be in regards to BOF to treat each problem specifically. Everytime we try to wrestle with more than one thing at a time things seem to break down.
In my experience Alaska commercial fishermen in SE Alaska have always been willing to share, to prioritize, even to sacrifice their own opportunity for two things. Conservation and fish for local people to catch and eat. Whether you call that subsistence, sport, or personal use. They are willing to share with the guided sport sector and each other but usually as a result of carefully negotiated or fought out allocation processes. Right now the troll, crab, and longline fleets in SE feel besieged by the growth and the relatively unaccounted high level of extractions by the guided sport fleets.
You are right that this is not the fault of individual captains or charter businesses. Nevertheless the BOF and other management entities need to manage this problem. The lack of management is creating social discord, localized depletion, and a general lack of confidence in our fishery management.
boatcat
2009-02-26 02:26:23
Hi guys -
If anyone can take the time to offer an update on how the meetings went, what the sentiments towards the king troll/charter quotas were, I'd appreciate it. How was our representation there? Was there good public testimony? I faxed a letter in and am not certain that it was received; had hoped to be there in person but father-in-law was undergoing open heart surgery last week. Look forward to hearing any details!
Thanks much, all, and be well -
Tele
John Murray
2009-02-26 04:13:08
BOF meeting is still going on as of Weds.King numbers were not on chopping block.Annual limits on coho-the BOF didn't act on annual limits on coho.The board did act on annual limits on blackcod.So the guided sport angelers as far as coho can take as much as they want (but only 12%) are suppose to take over 12 coho.
The verdict is still out on the board make up. Still trying to see the bigger picture,but my close-up view is not good but not a diaster either.
Trollers didn't gain any thing on Taku/Stikine.
Troll proposal Thurs.don't expect much mostly its status -quo,status-quo on most issues overall.
Carol W
2009-02-26 15:58:05
Thanks John I am back in Port Townsend boat is almost recorked.
Salty
2009-02-27 00:39:32
Fellow trollers. Here is what I heard from Fred Fayette a few minutes ago. He is at the meeting, I am in Oregon.
His proposal 320 to move a few uncaught kings from the Winter to the spring passed as amended by Fred and an ATA subcommittee. Basically the uncaught winter GHL over 10,000 will be moved by a formula proposed and adopted by the subcommittee.
Proposal 329 to allow 4 handgurdies in Federal waters west of Spencer passed amended for the Period after the July King opening through the Summer coho season.
Board working on groundfish now.
Did not give the trollers more opportunity on rebuilt Chinook returning to the Stikine and Taku. So we basically made conservation sacrifices for the gillnetters and guides to benefit from. I strongly supported these troll closures to rebuild these runs. I am sorry fellow trollers. I had no idea we would be excluded from the benefits of rebuilt runs.
Did not adopt a workable definition for electric reels. Did not adopt a preserved fish change proposed by ATA and Jordan. Did not adopt any of numerous proposals to better manage the guided sport fishery.
Almost arbitrarily removed 5,000 tons from the herring quota. Failed 4-3.
Adopted a ridiculously high daily, possession, and annual limit for blackcod. 4, 8, and 12?
Did not include troll chums in supporting the JRPT recommendation. But did support the JRPT consensus.
Not a good meeting for trollers so far.
Groundfish underway now. There is a live audio link at the
BOF site.
Salty
2009-02-27 00:48:18