Attention Handtrollers ! - Forums Archive

yak2you2

2010-12-09 17:32:31

Coming in the mail to all trollers soon is an application for a share of the mitigation money that was set aside for us to replace the 15% reduction in summer king salmon quota we all lost. A simple search will show you that 95% of the summer king salmon quota was harvested by the power troll fleet, it is a simple fact. There are some who felt that money should have followed the historical catch record, rather than permit potential.

The ATA board felt, and lobbied accordingly, that the money should follow your permit's potential, and it is because of them that the money will be dispersed on a 3 to 1 basis, based on permit value. This means a considerably larger share for you as a handtroller. When you consider this, along with all the other things that ATA does to preserve our way of life, I would ask you to consider giving a little back to help our common cause. Now, more than ever, we need a strong organization that is looking out for us.

Handtroll membership in ATA is abysmally low compared to the number of active permits, and I am here to tell you that it is time for this to change. There may have been a time when polarity and division in the fleet was a good idea, but that time is long past. We ALL need to step up, and make our voices heard, in unity. Our troll fleet, our halibut fleet, indeed all of our fisheries, are under attack from so many different fronts, it's amazing that we are even allowed to fish at all anymore. This will not continue, if we don't stick together.

In my line of thinking, you'd be quadrupling the value of your share of the mitigation money by investing it into your future. Join the ATA now!

Casey Mapes- ATA handtroll representative