Legislature(2011 - 2012)ANCHORAGE
10/19/2011 02:30 PM House FISHERIES
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation: Salmon Management on the Arctic-yukon-kuskokwim Region | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON FISHERIES
Anchorage, Alaska
October 19, 2011
2:42 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Steve Thompson, Chair
Representative Alan Austerman
Representative Bob Herron
Representative Scott Kawasaki
Representative Bob Miller
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Craig Johnson, Vice Chair
Representative Lance Pruitt
OTHER LEGISLATORS PRESENT
Representative Paul Seaton
Representative Alan Dick
Representative David Guttenberg
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION: SALMON MANAGEMENT ON THE ARCTIC-YUKON-KUSKOKWIM
REGION
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
CORA CAMPBELL, Commissioner
Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave opening remarks on behalf of ADF&G
during the presentation on salmon management on the Arctic-
Yukon-Kuskokwim Region.
JEFF REGNART, Director
Division of Commercial Fisheries
Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented information and answered
questions during the presentation on salmon management on the
Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim Region.
JOHN LINDERMAN, Central Region Supervisor
Division of Commercial Fisheries
Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented information during the
presentation on salmon management on the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim
Region.
TIMOTHY ANDREW, Director of Natural Resources
Association of Village Council Presidents (AVCP)
Bethel, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified during the hearing on salmon
management on the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim Region.
ROSE FOSDICK, Vice President
Natural Resources Division
Kawerak, Inc.
Nome, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave a presentation entitled, "Resource
Management Concerns and Allocations of Management Resources."
JILL KLEIN, Executive Director
Yukon River Drainage Fisheries Association (YRDFA)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave a presentation on community
involvement in management decisions and monitoring.
KAREN GILLIS, Executive Director
Bering Sea Fishermen's Association (BSFA)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave a presentation entitled, "Cooperative
Research & Monitoring: Fisheries Management Begins at the Local
Level."
ORVILLE HUNTINGTON, Director
Wildlife Parks
Tanana Chiefs Conference
Huslia, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified regarding salmon management on
the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim Region.
LOUIS GREEN
Nome, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified regarding salmon management on
the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim Region.
VERNER WILSON
Dillingham, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified regarding salmon management on
the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim Region.
STAN ZURAY
Tanana Village, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified regarding salmon management on
the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim Region.
FRED W. ALEXIE, SR.
Kaltag, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified regarding salmon management on
the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim Region.
TIM SMITH, President
Nome Fishermen's Association
Nome, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified regarding salmon management on
the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim Region.
BRYAN MARACLE, Director
Natural Resources
Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments
Fort Yukon, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified regarding salmon management on
the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim Region.
ROY ASHENFELTER
Nome, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified regarding salmon management on
the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim Region.
ACTION NARRATIVE
2:42:13 PM
CHAIR STEVE THOMPSON called the House Special Committee on
Fisheries meeting to order at 2:42 p.m. Representatives
Thompson, Herron, Kawasaki (via teleconference), and Miller (via
teleconference) were present at the call to order.
Representative Austerman arrived as the meeting was in progress.
Representatives Joule, Dick, Seaton, and Guttenberg, and Senator
Hoffman were also present.
2:42:29 PM
^Presentation: Salmon Management on the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim
Region
Presentation: Salmon Management on the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim
Region
2:42:38 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HERRON stated that the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim
(AYK) Region encompasses 40 percent of Alaska geographically,
but some of his constituents wonder if the region is getting its
share of attention in terms of subsistence and commercial
fishing management practices by the state. He expressed his
hope that this hearing would lead toward improvements in those
areas.
REPRESENTATIVE HERRON listed the following factors affecting
AYK's wild salmon: the conditions of the North Pacific Ocean;
high profile, high seas illegal fishing; climate change;
regulated intercept fisheries, both on the high seas and rivers;
the competition between subsistence, commercial, and personal
use consumption fishing; and the new threat of a flu-like virus
on salmon.
2:45:50 PM
CORA CAMPBELL, Commissioner, Alaska Department of Fish & Game
(ADF&G), stated that the department pulled together a
considerable amount of information in response to the questions
by the committee's staff, and she expressed appreciation for the
ongoing interest that the legislature has had on this topic.
She spoke of the dependency of people in the AYK Region on fish
species for survival, both in terms of subsistence and
commercial fishing, and she said necessary restrictions,
particularly on subsistence, have led to hardship in the region.
She said the investment made by the state and legislature has
allowed the department to procure the necessary tools to improve
its assessments, to provide additional certainty about salmon
runs in the region, and to provide more adaptive assessment and
management in an attempt to provide as much opportunity during
times of "low abundance." She said this does not eliminate the
hardship endured by those in the region when subsistence
closures are necessary, and she said the department still has
additional work to do.
2:48:44 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HERRON asked for comment regarding the "emotional
threat" of [the recent infectious salmon anemia (ISA) virus of
salmon in British Columbia].
COMMISSIONER CAMPBELL said the department's pathologist has been
studying that virus since its discovery. She deferred to Jeff
Regnart for further response.
2:49:40 PM
JEFF REGNART, Director, Division of Commercial Fisheries, Alaska
Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G), stated that it is known that
salmon can carry ISA, but it is yet unknown whether the virus
can be detrimental to the fish; more work needs to be done with
the samples to make that determination.
REPRESENTATIVE DICK suggested that it would be good for those in
the AYK Region to receive the information he recently received
from Craig Fleener in Bethel. He said he thinks that would
improve the relationship between those people and the
department, and allow the people to apply that information and
to ask pertinent questions.
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON said the House Special Committee on
Fisheries worked to get reports done to show the reasons why
"over-escapement" was taking place, and to address fish runs
where there was a deficit and money was lost to the local
economy due to foregone harvest. He asked if the department has
continued its work on the reports of monitored streams, and if
the results of that work are being reported back to the
legislature.
MR. REGNART said the department has continued the process of
determining whether it met its escapement goals and whether
additional measures could be used to affect those areas where
there was foregone harvest.
CHAIR THOMPSON asked if the department has a time frame in mind
when the report will be completed.
MR. REGNART said this process has been done by the department
for some time now, and he recollected that the reports are
usually available by mid-January.
2:54:33 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HERRON requested information regarding the age of
returning Chinook salmon in the AYK Region. He explained that
there is concern that there are no more eight- or seven-year-old
Chinook salmon, but there is information that there are six- and
five-year-old Chinook salmon.
2:55:57 PM
JOHN LINDERMAN, Central Region Supervisor, Division of
Commercial Fisheries, Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G),
stated that the AYK Region extends from the Alaska Range to the
North Slope and from the Canadian border to the Bering Sea
coast, at least north of the Bristol Bay area. He said it is
broken up into the following fisheries management areas: the
Arctic area, comprised of Kotzebue Sound, the Port Clarence
area, and the Norton Sound area, inclusive of St. Lawrence
Island; the Yukon northern area, comprised of the U.S. portion
of the Yukon River drainage, and the North Slope from Point Hope
to the Canadian border along the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas; and
the Kuskokwim area, comprised of the Kuskokwim River drainage
and Kuskokwim Bay areas, including both southern and northern
Kuskokwim Bay and Nunivak Island.
MR. LINDERMAN said the AYK Region is one of the most remote in
the state, comprised primarily of small, remote communities,
with the exception of Fairbanks, Bethel, Nome, and Barrow. He
said there is a large Alaska Native population throughout the
region, particularly in the small rural communities. Most of
the communities are detached from the road system and are
accessible only by air or water. Mr. Linderman said subsistence
is prevalent throughout the region.
MR. LINDERMAN said the AYK Region's subsistence fishery harvests
all species of salmon - Chinook probably being the most desired,
as well as herring, shellfish, crab, halibut, whitefish, burbot,
and char. He said commercial fisheries within the AYK region
are small compared to other commercial fisheries in the state.
The majority of those commercial fisheries are focused on
harvesting salmon, but there are also king crab, herring, and
halibut, and non-salmon, freshwater fisheries. The latter are
primarily specific to the Yukon River drainage for whitefish and
lamprey. He said the majority of the commercial activity occurs
in remote areas of the region, and the majority of participation
in those fisheries is at the local level thus the fisheries are
small in scale, but great in economic impact. He explained that
there is limited economic activity in these remote areas of the
state. He said there is a strong connection between commercial
and subsistence fisheries in the AYK Region because much of the
income gained through commercial fishing activity is put back
into subsistence fishing and hunting.
2:59:57 PM
MR. LINDERMAN stated that sport fisheries within the AYK Region
are also small in scale compared to the rest of the state, and
they are focused primarily on salmon and resident species,
including trout, Arctic grayling, sheefish, and pike. He
relayed that sport fishing occurs in urban, non-subsistence
areas, such as Fairbanks, but that there are "guiding operations
as well as private sport activity" throughout the AYK Region.
Harvest from sport fishing is fairly low compared to the
subsistence and commercial fisheries that occur throughout the
region.
MR. LINDERMAN next gave an overview of the 2011 AYK Region
salmon fishery, broken down by the previously described
management areas. In the Norton Sound area, he reported,
Unakaleet Chinook abundance was poor, which required
restrictions and a late season closure in order to achieve
adequate escapements within the drainage. However, opportunity
was provided for subsistence fishing of other species, such as
chum and Coho salmon. He said the Nome sub-district chum run
has improved from its historical lows; since 2005, that run has
been operated under a Tier I fishery. Overall, he related,
Norton Sound commercial salmon fisheries realized some of the
highest commercial harvest and participation that ADF&G has seen
in decades, and fishermen benefited from a record high ex-vessel
value in that fishery in 2011. He said the summer red king crab
fishery in Norton Sound achieved its quota earlier than expected
this year, and fishermen benefited from a record ex-vessel value
in that fishery in 2011.
MR. LINDERMAN said the Kuskokwim area experienced a second
consecutive year of poor Chinook salmon abundance, which
resulted in periodic closures to the Lower Yukon-Kuskokwim
subsistence fishery and reduced commercial opportunity in
Kuskokwim Bay areas within the month of June. Area chum runs
were above average, sockeye runs were highly variable depending
on the system in the area - average to below average - and Coho
runs were average. He said this allowed for adequate
subsistence opportunity and harvest of these species. He stated
that although commercial activity was reduced or delayed in
response to Chinook conservation measures, overall commercial
harvest in the Kuskokwim area was average and participation and
value was above average in 2011.
MR. LINDERMAN said the Yukon River Chinook run was poor in 2011,
resulting in reductions to subsistence fishing time throughout
the drainage, reduced sport fishing bag limits, no directed
commercial Chinook salmon fishery, and barring of the sale of
Chinook salmon caught incidental to other fisheries -
specifically summer chum salmon. He said management actions
taken this year resulted in achieving the Canadian border
objectives for Chinook salmon, while still maximizing the U.S.
harvest opportunity on surplus fish in excess of Canadian
objectives, and overall drainage-wide escapement needs. He
specified that the border objectives are established by the
Yukon River panel with a range of 42,000 to 55,000, with
provision for a border passing agreement, which is approximately
5,000 fish. The estimated border passage this year was 49,780.
Mr. Linderman said the summer chum run was well above average in
2011, although ongoing conservation measures directed at Chinook
salmon did limit commercial harvest opportunity on available
surpluses of summer chum. Fall chum abundance was also above
average, which provided for unrestricted subsistence fishing,
and Canadian border objectives were also achieved. Furthermore,
an above average commercial harvest was achieved, he noted.
3:05:22 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON, regarding a situation in which there is a
surplus of chum and a Chinook restriction, asked if the
department has been talking with local populations to come up
with any other strategies for harvest, other than gillnetting,
so that the foregone harvest could be taken without jeopardizing
Chinook salmon.
MR. LINDERMAN answered yes. He said the department has been
considering gear strategies, and "time and area" strategies. He
said there is the ability, especially through lower Yukon River
test fisheries, to determine when high abundance of chum may be
present in certain districts in concurrence with a low abundance
of Chinook salmon. He said the department has even split
districts into sub-districts to take advantage of the numbers of
chum and Chinook and minimize the impact of incidental harvest
on those species. He said there is also experimental work being
done to determine whether fish wheels would be feasible in those
districts. Traditionally, he explained, fish wheels have not
been feasible in that area, because specific conditions are
needed to make them effective. If fish wheels are viable, they
offer two potential benefits: they usually don't catch many
Chinook, but do catch more chum, because they are close to
shore; and fish wheels make it possible to "live release"
Chinook salmon that may be caught in them. He said the
department is open to ideas.
MR. LINDERMAN, in response to a follow-up question, said there
would be no restrictions to using fish wheels. He said this
year the department has the ability to have time and area
openings and closures. He indicated that the department has
strategies that it could put in play, but may need statutory
change.
3:09:47 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GUTTENBERG asked if the department foresees any
other conservation measures other than just managing the salmon
coming up the river.
MR. LINDERMAN said that is a difficult question to answer. He
said the ability exists to change district boundaries and allow
for more flexibility in management. Much of that can be done
independent of regulation, given the authority of the department
with respect to time and area. He cautioned that "going down
those roads" might confuse users, but suggested that having
users get used to regulations in the process of adopting them
might be useful. He said there are several approaches and
strategies that can be taken, but they revolve around the gear,
and time and area, as "broad topics of the tools that are
available to management."
3:11:50 PM
REPRESENTATIVE DICK said he lives on headwaters and is always
thinking about spawning grounds. He said the sheefish follow
fry down river and consume them, and he suggested the department
do a study about predatory fish. He said he thinks attention
should be given to ways to get the salmon "down to the mouth"
and into the ocean.
3:13:17 PM
MR. REGNART directed attention to a handout [included in the
committee packet], which shows a summary of the FY 01 - FY 12
budgets. For the Division of Commercial Fisheries, the numbers
for the general fund and special projects ran from $44.7 million
to $67.4 million. The general fund and special projects amounts
for the AYK Region ran between $9.5 million and $6.7 million
during the same time period. The AYK Region sport fish totals
ran between $24.9 and $49.1 million, but at this point are a
little less than that, he said.
MR. REGNART said the department has portions of operating
revenue and capital that go toward stocks that have been of
concern since FY 07. He said the amount spent in the overall
region to study those stocks of concern has increased from $2.2
million to $4.2 million since FY 07. He gave a breakdown of the
increase in dollars spent by area: Norton Sound, $260,000 to
$500,000; the Yukon, just over $800,000 to approximately $2.2
million; Kuskokwim, $540,000 to $640,000.
3:15:30 PM
MR. REGNART said when the current assessment programs were
looked at for the overall area, managers in the area felt it
would be beneficial to have additional sonar programs at the
tributary level. He said recording tributary salmon passage
would do the following: provide total passage of the system and
escapement estimates; allow for the assessment and/or the
establishment of escapement goals; provide in-season and post-
season ability to manage the terminal fisheries if they do exist
in those tributaries; and feed into the general understanding of
stock status. The cost for a small system would be $150,000 for
start-up and $150,000 annually. The cost for a system with
sonar in a large river environment, he said, would cost
approximately $400,000 for start-up and $400,000 annually.
MR. REGNART said that between FY 00 and FY 11, the Alaska
Sustainable Salmon Fund (AKSSF) has funded about 68 individual
state, federal, and nongovernmental organization (NGO) projects
at a total of just over $7 million. Many of those projects were
in collaboration with ADF&G and included: research, large
riverine, radio telemetry, run reconstruction, mark and
recapture, marine, and juvenile study programs. He noted that
the AKSSF funding source is the same as the Pacific Coastal
Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF) - the name changed over the years.
MR. REGNART said enhancement work is being done in the Norton
Sound area. The department has a statewide private nonprofit
(PNP) office that assists the Regional Planning Team (RPT) with
its long-range enhancement program effort. He said the
department also has the ability to review and monitor different
enhancement programs through the permitting process and is also
working on how to get access to chums when Chinook are low in
abundance, such as the opportunities given to users for fall
chums in the Yukon River. He said the department is working
with locals and NGOs to gain access to local resources. He
invited Mr. Linderman to talk about stocks of concern and
actions.
CHAIR THOMPSON said he thinks everyone present wants to know
when there will be positive results.
MR. REGNART agreed there have been millions of dollars spent
over the last ten to twelve years, and the department has
learned a lot. It now understands more stock-specific
information, can build total runs, and can come up with more
accurate tables. He opined the department is in a better
position to more accurately demonstrate to the public, the Board
of Fisheries (BOF), and the legislature, what the goals should
be in the systems. He said it is a matter of getting the right
number of spawners and letting Mother Nature take her course.
At this point, because of what the department has learned
through its projects, it is staged to take full advantage of
production, and although Chinook production has been poor, there
has been an indication that that is turning around, as the
department hopes.
3:20:48 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HERRON questioned why areas of stock concern
still exist and what tool the department is missing or has not
utilized.
MR. REGNART said he cannot point out a tool that the department
does not have; in fact, the department has a greater
understanding of productivity, but that does not change
environment. He said there have been changes, some stock-
specific and some species-specific, however, the department
does not have the answer regarding Yukon River Chinook as many
of the changes are being driven by the marine environment. It
is very difficult to garner information in a marine environment.
MR. LINDERMAN, in response to Representative Herron, agreed
there has been a decline since the mid-'80s of 8-year-olds in
the Yukon. However, 7-year-olds are still seen, and the
predominate age class in the Chinook population in the Yukon
[River] has always been 5- to 6-year-olds. He further noted
that 4-year-olds are less frequently seen. There has been a
recent decline in the number of 7-year-olds, but there has been
a "stabilizing to some extent" of the current trends in age
class within a short time frame of 5-plus years. Mr. Linderman
opined it is too early to determine whether that is a trend that
is going to remain or change.
3:24:36 PM
REPRESENTATIVE AUSTERMAN asked if the department needs, and is
anticipating, money coming in from sustainable salmon funds that
can be used toward further study on the Yukon. He queried as to
whether the stocks of concern of '07, and the department's
stocks of concern of today, are the same.
MR. REGNARD answered that the concern is partly the same. He
said ADF&G is going to "touch on stocks of concern," including
"what was started in 2000 when the designation actually came
into existence," what has changed, and where the department
currently is. Regarding the dollars spent on studies, he said
the department is constantly looking for ways to improve its
data. He related that when there is a stock of concern there is
a higher level of expectation that the department can "learn
something that we haven't known before."
REPRESENTATIVE AUSTERMAN asked what proposals currently are
coming forth from the department regarding "the marine aspect."
3:26:52 PM
MR. LINDERMAN said a study through the National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS) in Juneau, which focuses exclusively on Yukon
River Canadian orange and Chinook salmon, is an example of the
recent increase in ADF&G's collaboration with NMFS and the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). He said
this project involves genetics evaluation - Chinook salmon of
Canadian origin are genetically distinct - and stated, "These
are essentially fish just after they've entered into saltwater
in their first year." He said the department sees this project
as one through which to gain insight into that specific stock
and, by extension, into the Yukon River stock in general. In
response to a follow-up question, he confirmed that the
department does work with multiple agencies with respect to
genetics.
MR. LINDERMAN responded to further questions from Representative
Austerman. He specified that while the Yukon River Canadian
Chinook salmon are genetically distinct, others species are not.
He stated that achieving escapement of those Yukon River
Canadian Chinook salmon is critical to the sustainability of the
overall stock; approximately half of the entire Yukon River
Chinook run is produced by fish that spawn and rear within
Canadian waters. He said 47,000 is the number of fish that
historically have made it across the border; it is not the
escapement number.
3:31:07 PM
CHAIR THOMPSON asked if the changes in abundance and age class
are irreversible.
MR. LINDERMAN answered that this is an issue that ADF&G has
studied, specifically as it relates to the Yukon River, and it
plans to continue investigation on the Kuskokwim River, as well.
He talked about the involvement of the BOF in multiple studies
conducted over a decade to determine the causes and history of
the age class. He said the result of the board looking at that
issue was a mesh size restriction in 2011. Prior to that
restriction, both subsistence and commercial fisheries were
unrestricted when targeting Chinook salmon using gillnet mesh
gear. He said a 7.5-inch mesh size allows other species,
including chum, to swim through the net. He said the expected
result is to have the escapements mimic the same age, sex, and
size class that the return was prior to harvest occurring, and
the department will continue its monitoring.
CHAIR THOMPSON asked how accurate the bycatch counts were for
offshore commercial fishing of salmon.
3:34:00 PM
MR. REGNART replied that the department feels that the bycatch
number in today's offshore fishery is a fairly accurate
representation of what's being caught, in large part due to some
of the changes that have occurred there with 100 percent
observer coverage.
3:35:00 PM
MR. LINDERMAN listed the four current stocks of concern within
the AYK Region: Norton Sound sub-district 1 chum; Norton Sound
sub-districts 2 and 3 chum; Norton Sound sub-districts 5 and 6
Chinook; and Yukon River Chinook. The year 2000 - just after
the sustainable salmon policy was put into regulation - was the
first year that stocks of concern were established within AYK.
At that time there were a total of nine stocks of concern,
including Yukon fall chum, Kuskokwim River Chinook, and
Kuskokwim River chum salmon. He said there have been
improvements in several of those runs, in the Kuskokwim River in
particular.
MR. LINDERMAN, regarding implications of stocks of concern to
users, stated that salmon are primarily managed to achieve
adequate escapements to sustain the runs indefinitely. If
escapements are not achieved, then harvest is typically reduced
in order to increase the number of fish that are making it to
the spawning grounds. He said the specific impact to users is
variable, depending upon the type of stock concern designation,
of which there are three: a yield concern, which is primarily
focused on not achieving the same level of harvest surplus; a
management concern, which means the result of management on
harvest levels; and a conservation concern, which relates to not
achieving adequate escapements, even if all fisheries, by
function, were closed.
3:37:18 PM
MR. LINDERMAN said current stocks of concern are focused on
yields. He said there is a refocus on ensuring that adequate
escapements will be achieved before allowing unlimited harvest.
The primary effect on that, he said, is on the commercial
fisheries. He acknowledged that in recent years there have been
additional restrictions "within the Yukon Chinook fishery to the
subsistence fishery and a complete closure." He indicated that
restrictions will be evaluated over a number of years, through
the AYK board cycle, to see whether that stock of concern
designation warrants change. Mr. Linderman said the one stock
of concern for which restrictions have been listed in regulation
is Nome district chum salmon. He said the Tier II fishery was
actually put in place prior to that designation because it
predated the sustainable salmon policy. He stated, "We haven't
seen a Tier II fishery in [the] Nome area, given increases in
abundance of those Nome area chum salmon since ... mid 2000."
He said the numbers have not increased to the point that would
support a commercial fishery, but it is encouraging to have seen
an increase in abundance so that the effect on subsistence users
is not as great.
3:39:15 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON asked if all the department's stocks of
concern are those that failed to meet escapement goals instead
of those that are exceeding escapement goals.
MR. REGNARD answered yes. He said the department has discussed
the concept of goals that may be exceeded routinely for a number
of years, and whether that would be designated as a yield
concern or a management concern. He said trying to figure out
the effects of excess stock is more difficult.
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON suggested that the definition needs to
change.
REPRESENTATIVE HERRON concurred with Representative Seaton that
there may need to be another level of concern. He expressed
fear that current management of the Kuskokwim will result in
going to Tier II, which he said would be disastrous.
3:43:53 PM
TIMOTHY ANDREW, Director of Natural Resources, Association of
Village Council Presidents (AVCP), noted that he was speaking in
place of Myron Naneng, president of AVCP, who could not be
present. Mr. Andrew stated that the AVCP Region encompasses the
lower Yukon River and much of the Kuskokwim River, and the
people there are dependent upon salmon. He said the people who
reside in this region consume about 664 pounds per capita of
wild food, 60 percent of which is fish, and approximately 80
percent of that is salmon. He said the Chinook fishery on the
Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers makes up 80 percent of the
subsistence utilization in the state of Alaska. In the last
three years, the subsistence harvest of Chinook salmon on the
Yukon River fell near or below the minimum necessary for
subsistence. He remarked that within the department's
presentation he had not heard mention of the amounts necessary
for subsistence. In 2011, he said, it is likely that those
numbers will fall lower still.
3:46:00 PM
MR. ANDREW stated that the commercial ex-vessel value fell from
$9,957,002 in 1992 to $20,970 in 2009, and he said in 2011 that
number likely will have dropped further. The commercial fishing
permits on the lower Yukon River have dropped from 798 down to
379 during the period between the 1970s and 2011. Mr. Andrew
said the commercialization of Chinook salmon has dropped from
158,018 in 1981 to only 316 in 2009, and it is expected to drop
further in 2011. The subsistence utilization of Chinook salmon
dropped from 63,915 in 1993 to 32,977 in 2009, and would likely
be the same or less [in 2011].
MR. ANDREW said Yukon River Chinook salmon have been listed as a
stock of concern because of chronic lower returns. He said that
although its assertions are anecdotal at this time, AVCP
believes that the quality of escapement is a current issue for
both rivers. During both the Kuskokwim Interagency meeting held
in Anchorage in spring of this year, and the Kuskokwim River
Salmon Management Working Group meeting in summer of this year,
AVCP recommended the utilization of six-inch gear to allow
subsistence opportunity to harvest and target jack salmon and
improve the quality of escapement on the Kuskokwim River. He
said ADF&G responded that all kings are necessary to meet the
escapement goals. He said, "It appears to us that quality of
escapement is not a concern, but managers' ability to meet the
escapement goals is the ultimate goal." He said salmon girth
and weight are important in improving escapement quality.
3:48:48 PM
MR. ANDREW stated that it is AVCP's opinion that if the pilot
station sonar is going to be used as a major management tool,
then there needs to be a protocol to increase data accuracy
during high-debris, high-silt, and high-water years. He
explained that it is in these years that subsistence
restrictions to include absolute subsistence closures are
endured. He said ADF&G has years of run reconstruction data
from testing variances and questionable operational years, and
AVCP believes that that data can aid in developing protocol. He
said despite the conservation measures instituted by ADF&G and
the Office of Subsistence Management, since the crash of salmon
resources in 1998, there have not been any appreciable
improvements in the run.
3:50:03 PM
MR. ANDREW said another issue, which is controversial on the
Yukon River, is quantifying the harvest. He said the salmon
harvested in the customary trade fisheries must be a priority.
The reallocation of a legitimate commercial fishery to an
unquantifiable customary trade fishery is dangerous for resource
management. He said during his testimony to the federal
subsistence board, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Special Agent Stan
Pruszenski, chief law enforcement agent for Alaska, indicated
that 80 percent of the customary trade harvest of salmon
occurred in state waters. No one on the state side of the
fishery management arena is concerned about this, he said. Mr.
Andrew offered to answer questions.
MR. ANDREW, in response to Representative Dick, said in 2009 and
2011 there were high waters on the Yukon River, with high
amounts of silt and debris. During those years, the most
restrictive subsistence regulations were in place. He said data
from sonar shows a conservative count, not the total number of
salmon that went upriver to spawn. He clarified that it was the
department that said it was counting conservatively. He
explained that AVCP would like the department to do some run
reconstruction to minimize the impacts of restrictions on
subsistence and commercial users of Chinook salmon on the Yukon
River.
MR. ANDREW, in response to Representative Herron, said he has
been fishing since he was 11, and there have been years of low
chum salmon returns, and years of low Chinook salmon returns.
He said his concern regarding 7.5-inch gear is that when there
is a low abundance of summer chum salmon, which run concurrently
with Chinook salmon, the closure will be on both species.
3:54:48 PM
MR. ANDREW, in response to Representative Seaton, relayed that
customary trade is allowed under federal statute, through the
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), which
allows a person to process salmon and sell it to anybody. He
offered his understanding that it is illegal under state law,
but that law is unenforced.
CHAIR THOMPSON announced that the committee would hear a
presentation by Rose Fosdick.
3:56:55 PM
ROSE FOSDICK, Vice President, Natural Resources Division,
Kawerak, Inc. ("Kawerak"), gave a presentation entitled,
"Resource Management Concerns and Allocations of Management
Resources." She referred to a handout listing fish numbers in
surrounding rivers, and she said Kawerak has kept track of the
following rivers in 2003 and 2011: Snake, Nome, Eldorado,
Noatak, Pilgrim, North, and Quinhagak. She said Kawerak is a
regional nonprofit organization serving 15 communities located
on the Seward Peninsula, St. Lawrence Island, and Diomede
Island. She said the Norton Sound and Bering Strait Regions are
concerned and request that the legislature direct attention and
funding toward failing regional salmon stocks.
MS. FOSDICK said Kawerak supports salmon bycatch limits and
additional conservation measures for Bering Sea trawl fishers
and the South Peninsula False Pass sockeye salmon fishery to
prevent the loss of valuable subsistence salmon resources. She
said Kawerak requests that the legislature appropriate money to
fund salmon research and restoration efforts in Western Alaska
to the Alaska Sustainable Salmon Fund (AKSSF).
3:59:53 PM
MS. FOSDICK said despite the fact there is mandated subsistence
priority at both the federal and state level, commercial fishing
interests have been favored by government fisheries managers at
both the state and federal level. She said management of
Western Alaska salmon falls under the jurisdiction of ADF&G and
NMFS, on which the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council
(NPFMC) has a lot influence on decisions. Ms. Fosdick said NMFS
manages salmon caught incidentally by offshore and trawl
fisheries, and attempts to minimize the impact on large-scale
pollock fisheries, without regard to the annual fluctuations in
salmon returns, or state management measures.
MS. FOSDICK said Inupiaq, Yupik, and St. Lawrence Yupik cultures
and traditions are based on hunting, fishing, and living off the
land. She said the people there want to maintain their
subsistence practices and prefer subsistence food over store-
bought food. She stated, "Our subsistence needs are no less
important than offshore fisheries." She indicated that she
would be giving charts to the committee that show decreasing
escapements in Bering Strait and Norton Sound, and the
increasing bycatch of salmon by trawl fishermen. She said NPFMC
is preparing a chum salmon bycatch management plan for the
Bering Sea pollock fishery. She stated that Kawerak supports a
meaningful bycatch cap and additional measures which may
actually reduce chum salmon bycatch in the region.
MS. FOSDICK talked about ADF&G's management of chum salmon
fishing, noting that the department has tried Tier II fishing
measures, which have not been well-received or successful. She
said whenever harvest is allowed after the run begins, it is for
only two open periods per week in the marine waters. She said
Kawerak believes that the managers are out of options to
preserve Nome sub-district chum salmon stocks, and she opined
that the burden should be shared with False Pass sockeye salmon
fishermen and the federally managed pollock industry.
4:02:58 PM
MS. FOSDICK listed the following numbers of species that were
counted at the weir at Pilgrim River in the summer of 2011:
8,449 sockeye salmon, 269 Coho salmon, 44 king salmon, and 3,364
pink salmon. She said it is becoming apparent that filing an
Endangered Species Act (ESA) petition is an option to consider,
realizing that NOAA funds the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery
Fund (PCSRF) and AKSSF obtains its funding from that fund. She
stated that Alaska does not have "listed species of salmon," so
the focus of projects and funds has been on salmon enhancement
and harvest management. She said Kawerak also believes that
ADF&G has at its discretion the ability to make funding
available to the AYK Region so that programs could result in
funding research needs similar to the needs that were identified
in the AYK Sustainable Salmon Initiative (SSI) research and
restoration plan. She said Kawerak believes that part of the
reason the state has funneled money to the AKSSF and avoided
making funds available to the AYK Region is because by doing so,
it is able to direct funds to its own preferred projects, with
less rigorous scientific review. She said through its actions,
ADF&G has excluded the AYK stakeholders from participating in
the decision-making process. The Bering Strait and Norton Sound
Region has experienced drastic fish decline since the 1990s, and
fish returns continue to decline.
4:05:03 PM
MS. FOSDICK, reading from a handout, listed stipulations in the
AKSSF call for proposals for FY 11 funding, and named criteria
that must be met in order for projects to qualify as being of
high strategic importance. She then described the strategic
focus for the AYK Region stock assessment. She said the
strategic concerns identified in the AYK Region have no
relevance to what is going on in the Bering Strait or Bethel
Regions. She said Kawerak is concerned about the survival of
stocks and gave examples to support her previous statement that
ADF&G treats the AYK subsistence fisheries as being of lower
importance than commercial fisheries, evidenced by the
allocation of staff, resources, and research, the decision of
the BOF to remove chum salmon caps, and the decision of NMFS to
set a high Chinook cap. She said NOAA's PCSRF report shows that
there is an overwhelming need for research in the AYK Regions.
MS. FOSDICK concluded by listing Kawerak's recommendations as
follows: funds be set aside by ADF&G for AYK Region research; a
process be used wherein the recommendations of rural Alaskans
are solicited and incorporated into plans; a review be done by
the House Resources Standing Committee of the unique
collaboration, research, communication, and efforts of the
Alaska Yukon Kuskokwim Sustainable Salmon Initiative (AYK SSI)
Steering Committee; that the legislature send letters to the
Secretary of Commerce to request protection of chum salmon
through a low bycatch cap; that meaningful salmon bycatch limits
be established for the South Peninsula False Pass sockeye salmon
fishery; and additional research and restoration funds be made
available to address fishery concerns in the Norton Sound
Region.
4:09:20 PM
MS. FOSDICK, in response to Representative Seaton, indicated
that the information on the charts to which she previously
referred came from ADF&G, and she confirmed that no goals are
established for the Pilgrim and North Rivers. She said a point
of frustration has been that when there are no escapement goals,
the perception that follows is that there is no problem to
address.
MS. FOSDICK, in response to Representative Austerman, said
Kawerak appreciates the fact that funds have been spent on the
AYK Region, but she said a closer look will show that most of
that money is being spent on ADF&G projects. In further
response to Representative Austerman, she clarified that a
possible ESA would involve chum salmon.
4:12:15 PM
The committee took an at-ease from 4:12 p.m. to 4:25 p.m.
4:25:58 PM
CHAIR THOMPSON announced that the committee would hear next from
Jill Klein of the Yukon River Drainage Fisheries Association,
regarding community involvement in management decisions and
monitoring.
4:26:26 PM
JILL KLEIN, Executive Director, Yukon River Drainage Fisheries
Association (YRDFA), stated that YRDFA is an association of
subsistence and commercial fishermen with a mission of promoting
and protecting all healthy fisheries and cultures within the
Yukon River drainage. She said the association was formed in
1991 in response to disastrously low salmon runs. In addition
to its mission, YRDFA's goal is to foster and improve
communication among fishermen and between fishermen and
managers. She said the board is comprised of 30 delegates - 16
members and 14 alternates - representing each community along
the Yukon River, and meets annually to discuss fishing issues.
She said clearly the rapidly declining salmon runs are the issue
of utmost importance on the Yukon River.
MS. KLEIN said Chinook salmon are a critical source of food, and
the subsistence fisheries and the salmon are a key component to
the indigenous cultures of the region. She stated that recent
reductions in subsistence Chinook salmon fishing times and
changes to gillnet fishing gear have greatly impacted the Yukon
River communities. Furthermore, the lack of commercial Chinook
salmon fisheries necessitated by the Chinook salmon shortages
has also had a dramatic effect on income on the small rural
communities where commercial salmon fisheries are one of the
only sources of income.
4:28:12 PM
MS. KLEIN said research into the causes of the declines and
improved management tools are critical to the issue. She stated
that YRDFA fully supports the upcoming testimony of the Bering
Sea Fishermen's Association (BSFA), as well as the testimony
made on behalf of Kawerak. She emphasized that support for
addressing economic development, including alternative
commercial fisheries, sustaining rural communities, and reducing
other sources of mortality is important. The association has
worked for years to reduce salmon bycatch in the pollock
fishery, and while numbers have been low in recent years, the
YRDFA is continually monitoring the trends. She said YRDFA is
also working through the council process to ensure management
measures are in place to reduce chum bycatch, as well.
MS. KLEIN said YRDFA's niche is community involvement in
fisheries monitoring and decision-making, which is critical for
the following reasons: managers gain insight and knowledge from
those "on the ground" who have long-term knowledge about their
particular areas; hiring locals builds the capacity of those
people and makes it possible for them to be involved in
management. Incorporating traditional ecological knowledge into
management decisions is also critical, and has been a key
component of YRDFA's programs for more than 10 years.
MS. KEIN stated that in the past, YRDFA received funding through
direct appropriations via the PSCRF to conduct some of its
monitoring work. Projects from the past included: hiring local
people to work on ADF&G and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services
(USFWS) fisheries monitoring projects; working with ADF&G and
USFWS to develop an in-season harvest survey program;
documenting traditional ecological knowledge about natural
indicators of salmon abundance and arrival; partnering with
ADF&G and USFWS to contribute funds, resources, and capacity for
running successful projects in the Yukon River watershed.
Federal appropriations helped YRDFA to ensure there were
projects on the Yukon River directly aimed at engaging local
people and fisheries monitoring. Ms. Klein said while there are
projects with those aims, they are largely funded through
competitive processes, and there is no assurance that the
projects will continue. She opined that engaging local people
in monitoring should be a priority for the state and one that is
consistently funded.
4:31:54 PM
MS. KLEIN stated that engaging local people and tribes directly
in the decision-making of fisheries is also critical.
Communities are directly affected by fisheries management
decisions, and - more so in the AYK Region than anywhere else in
the state - those decisions can have a deep and profound impact
on people's lives and livelihoods. Locals can help craft
decisions with the least negative impact on the resource and
community, while also making the jobs of the state and federal
entities easier. Ms. Klein said YRDFA's board structure is
designed to facilitate input from local people. She offered
further details.
MS. KLEIN continued to explain that this year - with funding
from the legislature - YRDFA is undertaking a process
specifically aimed at Chinook salmon management to develop a
larger-picture plan for managing Chinook salmon under their
current states of abundance. This process will involve a group
of stakeholders, agencies, and technical experts. A proposal
can be submitted April 2012, with a plan submitted to the BOF at
its January 2013 meeting. She thanked the state for funding
this work, and urged support for additional funding for the
travel and staff time that is critical to maintain community
involvement in fisheries monitoring and decision-making.
CHAIR THOMPSON announced that the committee would next hear from
the executive director of the Bering Sea Fishermen's
Association.
4:35:12 PM
KAREN GILLIS, Executive Director, Bering Sea Fishermen's
Association (BSFA), relayed that in 1979, 150 fishermen from
over 30 communities united to build BSFA, an organization
concerned with helping fishermen gain full economic benefit from
local commercial fisheries. Currently, she said, BSFA is
governed by a 13-member board comprised of local fishermen from
Bristol Bay, Kotzebue, Kuskokwim, Norton Sound, the Yukon
[River], and St. Paul. She listed accomplishments of BSFA:
participating in developing a high seas driftnet ban through the
United Nations (UN); playing a leading role in creating the
Community Development Quota (CDQ) program; helping Yukon River
residents organize the Yukon River Drainage Fisheries
Association; creating and implementing the Bristol Bay Buyback
Coalition; facilitating and assisting in negotiations for the
U.S.-Canada Yukon River salmon agreement; conducting niche
marketing in Western Alaska salmon; initiating resource surveys
and fisheries feasibility studies in the Chukchi Sea; working
closely with regional Native associations to construct the AYK
SSI. Ms. Gillis said BSFA also administers and directs salmon
monitoring and scientific research.
MS. GILLIS stated that BSFA's concern is the health and
condition of marine and freshwater ecosystems and the resources
they support, which must survive the influence of human
activities, climate variations, and interactions between
species. She said what once looked like short-term decline in
the populations of salmon is now looking like it might be long-
term. More alarming is the realization that there are massive
knowledge gaps, and she advised it will take time to find
answers to explain the declines, to work on strategies to
prevent them in the future, and to create tools to manage them
in the interim. Ms. Gillis emphasized that those managing
fisheries must improve their interaction with rural Native
residents and communities. She talked about the difficult
decisions made by managers, and residents' response to those
decisions, which include adopting confrontational postures,
practicing civil disobedience, and engaging in outright sabotage
- all forms of communication developed after more constructive
attempts of communication have failed. These abrasive forms of
communication are more costly than bringing people together into
data gathering, analysis, and the decision-making process. She
pointed out that BSFA wants to see effort on the part of the
legislature to ensure the long-term viability of programs such
as the following.
4:39:12 PM
MS. GILLIS stated that in the summer of 1993, many chum salmon
runs in Western Alaska unpredictably failed to return in
expected numbers. The U.S. Department of Interior provided
funds to monitor the runs, with the stipulation that communities
and residents be full partners. She said BSFA managed the funds
between 1994 and 2006; however, since that time the program has
gone unfunded at the federal level. She explained that the
greatest benefit of the program was that projects implemented
with the funds were coordinated with ADF&G or USFWS. She said
BSFA encouraged community-based organizations, regional Native
organizations, and individual fishermen to partake in all
projects in order to increase participation and engagement
between regional residents, organizations, and federal entities.
She said it was the first AYK Region-wide effort to involve
rural communities and individuals in salmon monitoring projects.
The funding provided up to 175 seasonal jobs, including training
and mentoring programs providing opportunities for youth to
engage in scientific research in their own communities. Ms.
Gillis said the model for this program remains in place, and it
was an investment in constituents that built credibility and
trust.
4:41:10 PM
MS. GILLIS said since 1997, the unexpected decline in AYK salmon
runs warranted 16 disaster declarations in different watersheds,
resulting in harvest restrictions which have created tremendous
hardships for the communities in a region with both the highest
subsistence dependence on salmon and the lowest incomes in the
state. In response to these declines, BSFA and regional Native
organizations invited state and federal agencies to create the
AYK SSI - a proactive science-based program to identify and
address critical salmon research needs facing the region. She
said the AYK SSI includes: the Association of Village Council
Presidents, Tanana Chiefs Conference, Kawerak, Inc., Bering Sea
Fishermen's Association, ADF&G, NOAA Fisheries, and the USFWS.
The AYK SSI is governed by an eight-member steering committee
and advised by a six-member technical committee. The U.S.
Congress and the State of Alaska have appropriated $21.7 million
to support the AYK SSI, which she described as a unique research
program dedicated to understanding the declines of salmon across
both the freshwater and marine ecosystems of the region,
advancing research across the entire lifecycle of salmon, and as
one of the largest collaborative efforts of its kind on the
North Pacific Coast.
4:43:09 PM
MS. GILLIS listed the following AYK SSI accomplishments:
development of the AYK SSI Research and Restoration plan - a
strategic salmon science plan providing a roadmap to guide
requests for proposals; a partnership with the North Pacific
Research Board and the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council to
establish a rigorous, external peer review process overseen by a
scientific technical committee; development and application of a
regional capacity-building program, creating a new model by
which rural communities and organizations can directly engage in
fisheries research activities; organization of a salmon research
symposium, with the subsequent publication of a book, entitled,
"Pacific Salmon Ecology and Management of Western Alaska's
Populations." Ms. Gillis said the AYK SSI remains focused on
harnessing research to understand declines and support
sustainable management of these stocks. The research plan's
core focus is on the development of new fisheries management
tools and the synthesis of information for improved forecasting.
4:44:23 PM
MS. GILLIS highlighted three projects currently underway. The
first project is escapement goal-setting to ensure sustainable
fisheries. She said escapement goals and management strategies
for salmon stocks throughout Alaska have been the subject of
controversy. Traditional methods are hampered by limited
information. She told of new initiatives and an expert panel
that offers advice to the state toward "the most appropriate
research approaches." Ms. Gillis said the second project
addresses human systems and sustainable salmon. Another expert
panel was created to design a model using quantitative data and
assumptions to predict salmon harvest for subsistence,
commercial, and sport uses. The model predicts harvest by use
categories at the levels of drainage, major area, and stock, and
also predicts future harvest under various scenarios, including
human populations, salmon abundance, numbers of dog teams, and
monetary income. Ms. Gillis said the third project addresses
research priorities for AYK Chinook salmon, and it identifies
priorities for future research. She said BSFA is working to
determine the variables that account for long-term declines -
and shorter episodic declines - and to figure out whether the
declines are occurring primarily in the freshwater phase or the
marine portion of the Chinook salmon lifecycle. The project
will describe a research pathway through a series of projects to
answer these questions.
MS. GILLIS said the AYK SSI Chinook salmon subcommittee
requested a compilation of evidence for long-term declines and
periodic low returns of AYK Region Chinook populations. For the
Yukon River, the analysis indicated that the most recent period
of low abundance, which began in 2007, resulted from the low
productivity of the 2002-2004 brood years, which was one return
per spawner. This meant that in the absence of any fishing, the
population is barely able to replenish itself. She related that
for the Kuskokwim River, with the exception of the unusually
strong "recruit:responder" ratio from the 2000 brood year," the
analysis shows a period of low productivity over the past 15
years. She said that between 1994 and 2006, only two brood
years had productivity levels greater than 2:1, and seven years
during that period, productivity fell below one recruit per
spawner. She said productivity from the 2004-2006 brood years
was below the minimum replacement level of one recruit per
spawner, producing the lowest trending run abundance in the past
four years.
MS. GILLIS said it is possible to safeguard Alaska's treasured
salmon runs and the thousands of people whose livelihoods depend
on them. She expressed certainty that everyone wants the same
thing: resources that are healthy and abundant in numbers. She
said it is exciting to be part of the state's progress toward
getting stakeholders involved in the management process. She
said the decisions made have consequences and risks associated
with them. Ms. Gillis said the ultimate goal is to understand
and rebuild salmon stocks. She reiterated the effects that low
salmon runs have. She named those concerned and the entities
involved, including the legislature. She concluded as follows:
Many current fishery problems are the legacy of a
misplaced belief in the resiliency or inexhaustibility
of our resources. Our task and yours requires the
involvement of every person, from doctors of science
to subsistence users, to commit themselves to
implementation of the idea of healthy and abundant
salmon stocks for generations to come. This can only
be achieved by working together.
4:51:12 PM
MS. GILLIS, in response to Representative Austerman, said the
aforementioned $21.7 million was given by U.S. Congress in
federal FY 02, and the first projects were in the water in 2003.
She confirmed that the funding lasted 10 years.
4:52:18 PM
CHAIR THOMPSON opened public testimony.
4:52:42 PM
ORVILLE HUNTINGTON, Director, Wildlife Parks, Tanana Chiefs
Conference, said his concerns are the same as those of Tim and
Ms. Fosdick, which are related to the difficulty experienced by
subsistence fishermen. He said his experience has shown that it
is necessary to work with "fish and game." He encouraged the
legislature to continue its support of good organizations, such
as the Bering Sea Fishermen's Association and the Yukon River
Drainage Fisheries Association. He said his organization works
closely with them. He observed that some representatives had
left the meeting, and he said he is sorry that happened, because
"it's not easy living out there." He related that he is one of
the few commercial fishermen in the area who has let his
commercial fishing license sunset, because he "didn't see the
sense in it anymore." He said this summer was the first that he
only fished one day as a subsistence fisherman. He said he
knows he has done his part, and said complaining will not get to
the root of the problem. He said he thinks that "you guys" are
the ones that can do the most good at this point. He relayed
that he has met with representatives in the federal government
and has been told to do the best he can "within the system -
without money," and he said those are difficult words to accept.
Mr. Huntington expressed his willingness to work with the
legislature on this issue, and he thanked ADF&G for its efforts.
4:56:23 PM
LOUIS GREEN said he comes from a sub-district that has
experienced a decline in salmon runs for 30 years. He said
there is a lot of emphasis on the AYK Region and he thinks the
testimony he has heard has covered much of the problem. He
related that he has been both a subsistence and commercial
fisherman. The declines in the Nome sub-district started way
ahead of that of other areas, but the efforts he and others made
to bring this to light seemed to fall on deaf ears. Now, he
said, it seems that many people are using "our" problems to
bring theirs forward. He said Nome's long history of declining
salmon runs is not just an economic issue, but also a cultural
issue. He said he is shareholder of Sitnasuak Village Native
Corporation, which owns all the land around ADF&G Special
Management Area Unit 22C, and many of the rivers in that area
are rivers of concern. Mr. Green said he also served as chair
of the Tier II salmon work group, in 1998 and 1999, and that
system "didn't do anything." He offered his understanding that
the escapement goals were dropped, and when he asked the past
AYK director why, he was essentially told not to complain
because he "got the fish." Mr. Green said he has a problem with
lowering escapement goals to get fish, because it means killing
off the runs faster.
MR. GREEN said he heard someone say the Nome sub-district has
escaped Tier II management for a while. He questioned local
management allowing subsistence fishing before any of the salmon
get up to the counting weir, and then shutting down the
subsistence fishing when management decides it's not getting
enough. He said that is backwards management, because the fish
should get up to the weir to ensure they get to spawning grounds
before anyone is allowed to catch them. He said he has a
difficult time understanding where the problem lies, and said he
thinks "there's a lot of political stuff going on here."
MR. GREEN said his CDQ group is allowed to work on enhancement
and rehabilitation of salmon runs. He said he looked at the
annual report, and saw that $22 million has been spent through
2011. He said he doesn't know how much of that goes to
enhancement, but knows that a lot of it goes to ADF&G for
counting tower projects. He said that money from the CDQ group
is supposed to take care of economic development for "us." He
said ADF&G has an oil field "up there" to take care of its
budget; therefore, he does not understand why they need "our"
money.
MR. GREEN said at one point in time there was low-technical
hatchery running on the Nome River - through a cooperative
agreement with ADF&G, the Nome Fishermen's Association, and the
regional aquaculture association for Norton Sound and Bering
Straits - that was doing a small enhancement project that seemed
to be working, but "now that's over with." He questioned why
the people of Nome cannot have this hatchery project in
operation for their economic and scientific benefit.
5:02:21 PM
VERNER WILSON stated that he is a commercial, sport, and
subsistence fisherman. He said he also works for the World
Wildlife Fund (WWF), which tackles projects involving fishing
off of Russia, pollock and salmon fisheries, Bristol Bay, and to
increase the price, value, and quality of Bering Sea fish. He
described a WWF project. He said one goal toward protecting
Bristol Bay salmon, including fisheries throughout the Bering
Sea and AYK Region, is to protect marine habitat. He referred
to a NOAA fisheries review completed in April 2011, by the
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement,
titled, "The Review of Salmonid Use of North Aleutian Basin
Lease Area and Surrounding Habitats," which states that when
salmon migrate out of freshwater, including the Kuskokwim
watersheds, some head directly to the North Ocean Basin area,
where the federal government may allow offshore drilling after
2017. When those salmon return to spawn, offshore drilling can
risk the integrity of the fisheries because of drilling
contaminants, seismic surveys or infrastructure that can kill
juvenile fish and eggs, and oil spills that can harm fish
populations and taint Alaska's clean fisheries' image. He said
the AYK Region benefits from the CDQ program, similarly to
Bristol Bay, and warned that if offshore drilling is allowed in
the North Aleutian Basin, fishing operations, from crab to
pollock, could be affected.
5:04:51 PM
STAN ZURAY relayed that he has been a subsistence and commercial
fisherman in the Tanana area for about 40 years. He said he
presently runs a number of fisheries data collection projects,
some of which are directly related to the decline of Chinook
salmon run numbers, quality, and size of fish. He said during
the years of the decline of Yukon Chinook salmon in average size
and overall numbers, proper escapement was determined by
management only by using the number of fish. Data collections
and anecdotal information show that a large number of smaller,
male Chinook presently are being used towards this escapement
number, and he said, "This needs to be changed as it makes
managing for proper returns impossible."
MR. ZURAY stated that the quality of escapement has clearly been
more positive in 2009 and 2011, the two years in which there
were "Chinook pulse closures." He opined that this needs to be
instituted and continued for all pulses each year, until a trend
of healthy Chinook years is shown. Regarding customary trade,
he said he would like to clarify that it is not the redirection
of commercial fish harvest, as it predates the Alaska Commercial
Fisheries Entry Commission program by many years. Commercial
fishing, more accurately, is the redirection of customary trade,
with 90 percent of that allowable Chinook quota having been
allocated to the lower of the districts. He added, "That would
be an upper river perspective."
5:07:47 PM
FRED W. ALEXIE SR. stated that ADF&G does not monitor fish in
the Yukon River by Kaltag; the monitoring is done based on
whatever is caught downriver or whatever passes the sonar
station. He questioned how ADF&G knows where the fish that pass
the sonar are going when the distance between the sonar and
Kaltag is so great. He recommended another sonar station at
Bishop Mountain, because it would eliminate the "guesswork." He
said the other sonar is in Eagle, which is too far from Pilot
Station. He expressed his disappointment that the weir station
program that taught children how to manage fish was ended. He
said he does not see ADF&G people near his home to monitor the
fish. He pointed out there were two closures last summer during
the peak of the Chinook run, and that in all his years of
fishing on the Yukon he has never seen it that bad. He asked,
"How did [ADF&G] know?"
5:10:57 PM
TIM SMITH, President, Nome Fishermen's Association, relayed that
he also serves on the Federal Regional Subsistence Advisory
Council. He said as a pilot he has flown salmon surveys for
thirty years over the rivers on the Seward Peninsula. He said
the department's presentation made the situation sound like it
is getting better, but he does not agree. He said commercial
fishing in the Nome area has been closed since 1989, and it has
been closed in the Port Clarence district since 2006. He said
this year only forty-six king salmon were caught in the weir on
the Pilgrim River, and returns have been approximately in that
range for the last seven years. He opined that run - by any
reasonable standard - is extinct. He said subsistence fishing
for red salmon was closed for most of the season and the harvest
was insignificant. In addition, subsistence fishing for silver
salmon in the Nome sub-district was closed for most of the run,
and the harvest was insignificant. He said [Nome's] chum salmon
returns were low, and so was the harvest. Mr. Smith said there
is no useful information regarding what is causing these
shortages.
MR. SMITH said he is the manager of the Hobson Creek Fish
Hatchery in the Nome River, which is a proven hatchery that has
been working on salmon enhancement projects since 1991,
producing healthy fry and getting marked adult returns back. He
said this year there is water running through the hatchery, but
no eggs, because the hatchery cannot get permits from ADF&G. He
said hatchery production is necessary to have a harvest, and he
does not understand why the department is blocking this effort.
5:13:42 PM
MR. SMITH, regarding previous testimony from the department,
said he has been a member of the regional salmon planning team
since 1997; however, that entity has not met since 2006 and has
no plans to meet in the future. He stated that there are no
meaningful salmon enhancement projects going on right now on the
Seward Peninsula, while in the rest of the state salmon
hatcheries produce lots of salmon for both commercial and
subsistence fishermen. He said there are no hatcheries on the
Bering Sea, and he said "we" don't see how [Nome] could be the
only place in the state that does not need hatchery production.
Furthermore, ADF&G has not been forthright on its position of
opposition to hatchery production in areas that have been
heavily impacted.
5:14:22 PM
BRYAN MARACLE, Director, Natural Resources, Council of
Athabascan Tribal Governments, stated that the Yukon Flats saw
the largest number of closures for all the Yukon fisheries. He
said the council remains concerned about "how the management is
dealing with the large scope of our district." Mr. Maracle said
based on the management criteria of escapement of fish crossing
the border, the council urges the consideration of opening up
tributaries during fisheries closures. Certain tributaries, he
explained, do not see Canadian-bound stocks. Further, Mr.
Maracle said the council would like to participate in a better
collection of salmon use surveys, and participate in a greater
way with subsistence harvest surveys that are conducted by
ADF&G. He said there is a lack of trust between "people on the
ground" and ADF&G personnel, and the council firmly believes
that good management needs good data. He said the council would
like to facilitate that. In response to Representative
Austerman, he named some of the tributaries to which he had
previously referred.
5:18:50 PM
ROY ASHENFELTER, chair of the Norton Sound Advisory Committee,
offered a history of chum salmon in the region. He said in
early 2000 there was an escapement goal - a chum cap - of
375,000. He said the cap was there for a number of years in a
row. However, after a change of governor, BOF members, and
commissioner, that was eliminated. He said the message heard
was, "We know when to stop fishing." He said, "The carte
blanche information and strategy in opening the fishery was left
to the commercial fishermen - not to the department." He
indicated that the result was that "they cut 1.2 million chum."
He referred to data on the Nome sub-district, and he said for
years there was a gradual incline of chum salmon escapement.
Most of the rivers had a reduced chum run. He stated that in
2010 and 2011, the area fishermen decided to take control and
not open their fishery until late June. He said, "It is really
scary that when you have all kinds of measures being addressed
to the users, subsistence fishermen in Norton Sound, and Yukon,
and Kuskokwim, and in the other area where they're catching the
fish there's no control at all." He questioned "How do we make
some changes?" He asked [the committee] when and how it would
ask the department to do its job. He said there is something
wrong with the system, and he relayed that, by volume, less than
2 percent of the fish caught are caught by subsistence
fishermen. Mr. Ashenfelter observed that the research in his
area is being done by the local CDQ, not the department. He
then expressed his hope that there would be meaningful dialogue
and shared responsibility regarding the responsible management
of chum salmon.
5:24:00 PM
CHAIR THOMPSON noted that Charles Swanton, Director of the
Division of Sport Fish, ADF&G, and Mike Smith from the BOF were
available for questions.
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON stated he had requested an analysis of a
chart that had been given to the committee regarding escapement
goals, so that there is a way to monitor large streams.
5:24:46 PM
REPRESENTATIVE AUSTERMAN commented to the department that this
hearing has highlighted many issues that have gone unanswered
for years. He said he would like another hearing with the
department at the start of the new session regarding the
information that was presented today - particularly regarding
the amount of money that is being spent on research. He said he
was pleased to discover that the governor and perhaps the
commissioner are taking a stronger interest in putting more
money into the AYK Region to find out what is going on; however,
he remarked that there is only so long research can continue
before it may be necessary to question the research. He said he
wants stronger answers from the department to explain what's
going on in the marine environment. Representative Austerman
said he would also like to consider what is happening in the
Asian market, as well, because "at some point in time there's
going to be an 'abundance limit' of what the ocean system can
take."
5:28:54 PM
CHAIR THOMPSON said he is certain the department has taken note
of the concerns expressed during testimony, and he said follow-
up discussions will occur, beginning in January.
5:29:29 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Fisheries meeting was adjourned at 5:29
p.m.