Abundance Index
Carol W
2008-04-03 23:07:14
Anybody hearing anything about this season's abundance index, hearing rumor's that it has never been this low, sounds scary.
Hello All...
I see Tommy beat me to the punch - came to the page this afternoon to post the following:
Just writing to give you a heads up about a press release coming soon from ADFG. I was just informed today that the Southeast chinook quota number is out - and it's very low.
The 2008 All-Gear quota is 170,000, which is a 51% reduction from 2007. Every gear type is taking a big hit. The troll portion is 125,370. Roughly 9,000 have been taken in the winter fishery so far.
The ADFG news release is not out yet, but I wanted you to be aware for your planning purposes. And since the number is based on forecasted abundance, it will be difficult for me to say much, publically, beyond expressing concern for the fleet and our communities. We want the public to know that fishermen in Alaska take conservation seriously. That said, I want you all to understand our concern for the welfare of our industry and that we do what we can to groundtruth these significant cuts.
For additional information, please plan to attend the joint ADFG/ATA port meetings. Petersburg, Wrangell, and Yakutat dates are still in flux, but here are the meetings already scheduled:
Monday April 14 Ketchikan Fish & Game Conference Room 7pm
Tuesday April 15 Craig City Hall 11am
Wednesday April 16 Hoonah US Forest Service 10am
Wednesday April 16 Pelican City Hall 1pm
Wednesday April 16 Juneau ADFG Headquarters 6:30pm
I realize that some out there are frustrated with the lack of information coming out of the office these days and I'm very sorry for that. Both the ATA Board and myself care a great deal about customer service and this is a difficult situation for us all. ATA has a staff of one, and way too many high priority bases to cover. Some of the issues, like Treaty/ESA, occur under the cloak of US/Canada confidentiality and demand a lot of time and energy that you rarely hear about. Other priorities include Board of Fisheries, Fish Farming, USCG Safety regulations, potential new EPA discharge requirements - the list of 'other' issues is long. Right at this moment we have one board member heading to the NPFMC for halibut and trawl issues, and another on the ground in DC discussing a wide array of topics. I have three Treaty travel meetings on my calendar just this month, in addition to port meetings. Working the issues that impact the troll fleet is a time-consuming and costly endeavor, which, with ever-rising costs, hasn't left much for additional staff. So, I do hope you'll bear with me when it takes longer than it should to respond. And, maybe give a shout to your local board member to see what they know. They try hard to stay up to speed.
We very much appreciate the support of our members and hope that those of you who have been holding out will sign up soon (Dues levels vary, with entry level starting at: $300 powertroll / $200 Handtroll / $75 crew / $500 processor / $250 Support Business). The troll industry needs a united front!
No Surrender!
Dale Kelley, Executive Director
Alaska Trollers Association
130 Seward #205 Juneau, AK 99801
(907) 586-9400 ph / 4473 fax
Sorry - forgot the Sitka ADFG/ATA meeting in my last post. See you there?
Thursday April 17 Sitka 7pm Harrigan Centennial Hall
Dale
Salty
2008-04-05 17:14:58
Now is the time for all of you who sold your permits last fall at $35,000 plus to try and re-purchase them for less than $30,000. Should be a nice little winter speculators move. It will be interesting to see how much they drop before the July season and then how much more they drop next fall. Seems like they went to less than $20,000 relatively rapidly in the early 80's. On that note I hear rumors that the treaty negotiations might not be going very well. Of course nobody will say anything substantial, especially the troll representatives, but the chicken etrails do not bode well. Further on that note, I was just in Lewiston, Idaho, and happened to be reading the local paper and noticed a news clip about a local hatchery losing over 400,000 Chinook smolts due to an ice problem in one of their circulating ponds.
Finally, I read the ADF&G analysis behind their pink salmon prediction for SE Alaska for 2008. The reason this is important to trollers is that coho salmon returns most often are correlated in SE Alaska with pink salmon returns. Might be because they share one winter in fresh water, outmigrate the same spring, and spend the same amount time in the Ocean. The prediction for SE Alaska of 19 million pinks for the region is optimistic in my opinion.
There is at least one indicator that it could be as little as 9 million. The lower indicator, the more recently developed one, that predicted last years pink return much more accurately, is too new to be fully credible.
So, if the pink return is weak, even 19 million is very weak, it is likely that the coho return will be weak. The chum predictions are also way down from recent years predictions.
Perhaps I am feeling maudlin, having just returned from a funeral. On the other hand it is another beautiful day here in SE Alaska, I just got my new skymate VMS, which I am going to install this week, and we are likely to get to fish Chinook all of April which adds two weeks to my season which pretty much compensates for the whole treaty reduction in my income at these April prices if some fish ever show up.
The hatchery king return prediction for the Sitka area is up, and with treaty abundance down we should get more time locally in May and June while the prices are high. Probably means even more crowded drags, and they are already full, around here but that is OK because these hatchery kings are finicky and it takes thousands of dollars worth of special gear and spoon paint, which I have stockpiled in my garage, to try and figure out each years preferences. Kind of fun to listen to frustrated trollers trying to figure why they won't bite the gear that worked last year. I was just reading my SPC settlement and while I lost a little bit on the chums it looks like they did very well for us on the Chinook.
Plus things could be a lot worse, believe me. Just look at the trollers in Oregon and California.
Morning Salty and crew...
You mention that troll reps don't give a lot of news on Treaty, which is correct. The reason being that, since it's an international treaty negotiation, it is a forum very different than the open Board of Fisheries or NPFMC process. The Northern Panel members are appointed by the Sec. of Commerce and all have security clearances with the federal government. The Alaska commissioner is appointed by the President. The state and our commissioner take the confidentiality thing very seriously and hold Panel members to it. I am no longer on the Panel, so am fortunate for the information and level of participation I am allowed by the Alaska delegation. Folks in WA and OR have to wander the halls at Treaty meetings and hope someone gives them bits of information! The ATA Board gets full briefings from me, the Treaty commissioner, and ADFG staff who are involved. Therefore, we all tend to respect the confidentiality aspects of Treaty, in order that at least a few in the troll industry can actually sit at the table with the Alaska team and tell them the view from troll-land. Quite honestly, if the fleet saw every position that comes across the table at Treaty, everyone would be running to sell permits as you suggest. There are MANY initiatives that don't see the light of day - thank goodness - beyond that proverbial shot over the bow. As you said, Salty, no... things are not rosey at negotiations right now, which is not unusual. Same Treaty - different year.
As many of you know, it is sometimes easier to talk to people one on one about information than write it in newsletters or post it on the net - and anyone who knows me must realize that I am always much freer providing sensitive information to our members verbally than in writing. For one thing, even ATA's mailings get around and you don't want the 'other side' knowing what you're thinking and doing sometimes - in any forum - right? That is why I encourage you to come talk to me during the port meetings, or give me a call.
So, I am sorry that we are not more open about Treaty details, but also hope the above offers a rational explanation that the fleet will appreciate. ATA has board representatives in most SE communities (I'll list them this morning on the ATA portion of this page), so when I go to them for association positions, I believe the fleet is well-served by their decisions, which take into account the details of the often messy issues and attempt to balance the needs of our diverse fleet. They have a very difficult job and I am proud of how thoughtful the ATA board - no matter who has been on it - has always been in their decision-making. They care about the long-term future of the resource, the industry, and our communities. That is one of the main reasons I have been able to stick it out in this job for over 20 years.
Good morning...
Dale Kelley, ATA
Carol W
2008-04-06 01:39:01
Thanks Dale I know that not enough people say thanks.
Good afternoon...
I just found out that the Petersburg and Wrangell ADFG/ATA meetings are actually taking place next week(!). With all the flurry of issues and action the last couple weeks, I fell out of the scheduling loop. There had been some trouble getting meeting space, which apparently got resolved, but I didn't get the memo.
So...
Thursday April 10 10 am Petersburg City Council Chambers
Thursday April 10 7pm Wrangell Fire Hall
Please spread the word!
It's likely I won't be able to attend either of these meetings, as I've backfilled those times with other things. However, I encourage you to attend, provide comment on the spring fisheries, and get the news from Brian. The ATA board members in those communities and I will discuss another schedule for ATA meetings and try to work something out - maybe May or June, so stay tuned.
And remember, the rest of the port meeting schedule is above, plus, ATA will hold a meeting in Sitka somewhere around June 27th and again during the coho closure in August. Please try to attend any or all of the meetings in your homeport or port of call. There's always something going on.
Dale, ATA
Ocean Gold
2008-04-09 02:41:59
With the charter logbooks coming out the day before we got the wonderful news of king salmon abundance, kinda fanned the fire at the counsel. Be prepared for a war at the BOF. The charter fleet dosn't sell fish they say, but they need something to sell :?: They made it very clear they will be fighting for more, more of nothing is still nothing but they think we have something.
Salty
2008-04-09 07:08:06
How did the Council meeting go? Are things looking up or more poorly? Looked to me like a couple of key votes went our way.
Ocean Gold
2008-04-09 14:29:31
Good for what we were trying to get done , the motion can been read at http://www.seafa.org
On the salmon side here is what the regs for sport salmon are:
Denby S. Lloyd, Commissioner
DIVISION OF SPORT FISH
Charles O. Swanton, Director
Contact: Bob Chadwick,
Regional Management Coordinator
(907) 747-5551
April 8, 2008
SOUTHEAST ALASKA KING SALMON SPORT FISHING REGULATIONS FOR 2008
Juneau-
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is announcing today the 2008 sport fishing bag and possession limits for king salmon in Southeast Alaska and Yakutat which will become effective 12:01 A.M. April 9, 2008. The regulations are:
- The bag and possession limit for king salmon is 1 fish 20 inches or greater in length for all anglers.
- Nonresident harvest limit:
* From January 1 through June 30, a nonresident's harvest limit is three king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length;
* From July 1 through July 15, a nonresident's harvest limit is two king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length, and any king salmon 28 inches or greater in length harvested by the nonresident from January 1 through June 30 will apply toward the two fish harvest limit;
* From July 16 through December 31, a nonresident's harvest limit is one king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length, and any king salmon 28 inches or greater in length harvested by the nonresident from January 1 through July 15 will apply toward the one fish harvest limit;
* Nonresident anglers must record all king salmon harvested, in ink, either on the back of their sport fishing license, or on a nontransferable harvest record immediately.
- From May 1 through June 30 the maximum number of lines that may be fished from a charter vessel engaged in sport fishing charter activities is four lines;
- From August 1 through September 30, the retention of king salmon less than 48 inches in length is prohibited by resident and nonresident anglers, except that from August 15 through August 25, an angler is allowed a bag and possession limit of one king salmon 28 inches or greater in length, in the following areas (see map): [Editor's Note: Map omitted due to illegible graphic.]
* Lynn Canal north of a line from Point Couverden to Point Lizard Head to a line from Point Bridget to Point Whidby;
* Taku Inlet west of a line from Cooper Point to Greely Point;
* Stephens Passage north of a line from Gwen Point to Point Styleman.