Legislature(2023 - 2024)BUTROVICH 205
05/01/2023 03:30 PM Senate RESOURCES
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation(s): Area M Overview, Part Ii | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 68 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE RESOURCES STANDING COMMITTEE
May 1, 2023
3:31 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Click Bishop, Co-Chair
Senator Cathy Giessel, Co-Chair
Senator Scott Kawasaki
Senator James Kaufman
Senator Forrest Dunbar
Senator Matt Claman
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Bill Wielechowski, Vice Chair
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION(S): AREA M OVERVIEW~ PART II
- HEARD
SENATE BILL NO. 68
"An Act relating to public notice for a sale, appropriation, or
removal of water, or for filing a declaration of a right of
water; and providing for an effective date."
- SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
See Senate Resources Area M Overview Part I on April 28, 2023.
WITNESS REGISTER
BRIAN RIDLEY, Chief/Chair/President/CEO
Tanana Chiefs Conference
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided invited testimony during Part II of
the Area M Overview.
FRANCES LEACH, Lobbyist
Area M Seiners Association
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented a PowerPoint relating to the Area
M Salmon Fishery.
KILEY THOMPSON, President
Area M Seiners Association
Sand Point, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented a PowerPoint relating to Area M
Adaptive Fleet Management Strategies 2022-2023.
CURTIS CHAMBERLAIN, Assistant General Counsel
Calista Corporation
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided invited testimony during Part II of
the Area M Overview.
VIRGIL UMPHENOUR, Member
ADF&G Fairbanks Advisory Committee
Alaska Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided invited testimony during Part II of
the Area M Overview.
ACTION NARRATIVE
3:32:21 PM
CO-CHAIR CATHY GIESSEL called the Senate Resources Standing
Committee meeting to order at 3:31 p.m. Present at the call to
order were Senators Dunbar, Kaufman, Claman, Kawasaki, and Co-
Chair Giessel. Co-Chair Bishop arrived thereafter.
^PRESENTATION(S): Area M Overview, Part II
PRESENTATION(S): AREA M OVERVIEW, PART II
3:32:26 PM
CO-CHAIR GIESSEL announced Part II of the Area M Overview. She
invited Chief Brian Ridley to begin his testimony.
3:33:39 PM
BRIAN RIDLEY, Chief/Chair/President/CEO, Tanana Chiefs
Conference, Fairbanks, Alaska, provided invited testimony during
Part II of the Area M Overview. He stated that he comes from the
Native village of Eagle that is on the Yukon River near the
Canadian border. Most of his Native family lives in Canada so
it's a big concern that escapement goals into Canada are not
being met. He reported that he was also representing the Alaska
Federation of Natives and the 574 tribes of the National
Congress of American Indians who see the struggling salmon
populations as a prioritization of business and money over food
on every table and the preservation of 10,000 years of
traditions. He continued with the following prepared testimony.
Why are you hearing so much about Area M this year?
Why are we having an entire hearing on this one issue?
Why can't we leave these discussions to the folks that
sit on the Board of Fish? First let me say that Area M
was shut down in the early '70s to protect the Bristol
Bay fishery. So to me, that set a precedence in doing
exactly what you're being asked to do down there in
Juneau.
I cannot stress enough to you our lawmakers the
requirement of the Board of Fisheries to prioritize
sustainable salmon fisheries management and reasonable
opportunities for customary and traditional salmon
fishing over commercial fishing. And the failure to do
so absolutely warrant legislative action.
In every other fishery in Alaska except Area M, the
policy and practice of the Alaska Board of Fisheries
and ADF&G is to close commercial fishing on a stock
when escapement and subsistence needs are not going to
be met. This is a foundation of the sustained yield
principle found in the Alaska Constitution, and
precautionary management found in the sustainable
salmon fisheries management policy. Sustainable salmon
management is crucial to the resource itself and to
the 37 federally recognized tribes and other Alaska
Native organizations that the Tanana Chiefs Conference
serves.
Salmon represents wellness in our communities. We come
to these hearings and commissions and talk about our
way of life, about empty smoke houses and a generation
of lost children who only know how to cut fish when we
ship them a box of fish we buy from the commercial
fisheries.
3:36:38 PM
You had the opportunity to hear from Commissioner
Vincent-Lang on Friday. He spoke to you about the
science, scientists, and the data; all of which he
claims support the decision that the board made in
February. What the commissioner failed to mention is
that sustainable salmon management is written into the
Alaska Constitution. The commissioner will tell you
that the decision made on Area M represented a
compromise. But that compromise was only between the
processors and the seiners. A compromise that had
nothing to do with the Yukon River and everything to
do with the Board of Fish handing over the reins to
commercial interests.
3:37:27 PM
In that February meeting, the board adopted the
Adaptive Management Plan, with gives away board
authority to Area M seiners and processors to manage
their own season. A transfer of the board's authority.
This plan is without precedent in the salmon world.
The only remotely similar plan was the Chignik Coop
from '02 to '05. That plan resulted in the Grunert
litigation and the Alaska Supreme Court concluded that
the board, did not have the authority to let the
private sector self-regulate their fishery.
This Area M plan puts the proverbial fox in the hen
house. There's no incentive to not chum chuck if the
fleet feels they're intercepting too many chum in
relation to the sockeye-directed fishery. The Bering
Sea pollack industry has 1oo percent observer coverage
on their boats for this very reason.
The transfer of board and department authority to
private enterprise is precisely why the legislature
needs to reassume their authority over the Board of
Fish. The seiners will tell you that we need to trust
the board. That there's nothing to see here. In
instances of unanimous or nearly unanimous decisions,
maybe that's warranted. However, in this instance
board members expressed discomfort about this
decision. Ultimately, only four members voted to allow
the self-regulation or self-policing of one of our
natural resources to the industry, calling the
arrangement a handshake and a prayer.
The responsibility to protect this resource is on you,
the legislature. You delegate to the commissioner and
he has delegated the board who has delegated to the
only people who stand to benefit. So your agent has
prioritized commercial fishing in Area M above all
else - over escapement, over sustained yield, over
subsistence, when subsistence is supposed to be the
top priority.
On April 25th, Representative Louise Stutes expressed
the opinion that the legislative body should not
override boards, claiming it will destabilize our
whole state government [and] that if we are unhappy
with the decision made by the Board of Fish, our
remedy is to change the board.
3:40:02 PM
With all due respect to the member from Kodiak, the
Board of Fisheries and the Board of Game are unique to
the many boards and commissions in the state of Alaska
in that they are managing a resource on behalf of all
Alaskans. They're not the same as a board that is
regulating other licensed professionals or acting in
an advisory capacity. It is absolutely the duty of the
legislature to ensure that these boards are making
decisions that are legally defensible and in the best
interest of all Alaskans.
PCC understands that the interception of our salmon in
Area M and salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea Pollack
fishery alone are not to blame for the collapse of our
chum and king salmon. However, on the Yukon River, in
particular, the situation has become so dire that
we've reached the point where every single chum and
Chinook salmon matters.
The more than 18,000 people served by PCC already have
taken the ultimate sacrifice by not fishing for salmon
and not practicing our ways of life for years. Area M
fishermen have many other fishing opportunities; we
have none. It's time that all Alaskans and our
neighbors from other states that make up the Area M
commercial fleet, join us in conservation efforts to
rebuild our salmon populations.
As you move past this hearing into budget discussions,
keep these words in your mind: Interior Alaska fish
equals wellness. It is part of the education
discussion, part of the permanent fund discussion,
part of the mental health and criminal justice
discussion. To say that salmon is a way of life is not
an exaggeration.
3:42:00 PM
SENATOR KAWASAKI asked for a description of the Tanana Chiefs'
region and how important the fishery is to the people who live
on the river. He added that he believes that people need to hear
the story about the boxes of fish that were shipped to people in
these communities because there were no fish in the river.
CHIEF RIDLEY described the region as roughly the size of the
state of Texas. It runs from the Canadian border to nearly the
west coast. There are 42 tribes and tribal organizations in the
region and most of the population lives on the river system.
They are highly dependent on the fish. It's more than a food
source because there is a major cultural element associated with
catching, cutting, hanging, and smoking the fish. This is shared
and taught and handed down through the generations. He
highlighted that the region spends close to $1 million per year
supporting the commercial fisheries to get fish to the region so
it shouldn't be said that the region doesn't support commercial
fisheries.
CO-CHAIR GIESSEL asked him to talk about how the Board of
Fisheries members are selected and whether the seats are
designated.
3:46:01 PM
CHIEF RIDLEY replied that he was not aware of any designated
seats, but that would be welcome. He commented on the heavily
politicized nature of the board and his growing concern that it
wasn't likely to change without legislative intervention.
CO-CHAIR GIESSEL said she's thought a lot about the
appointments, diversity, and whether all voices are heard. She
thanked him for his testimony.
CO-CHAIR GIESSEL invited Francis Leach to the witness table and
noted she had a PowerPoint.
3:47:57 PM
FRANCES LEACH, Lobbyist, Area M Seiners Association, Juneau,
Alaska, stated that she works with both the Area M Seiners
Association and concerned Area M fishermen. She relayed that she
was asked to speak about Proposal 140 and why it didn't pass.
She began the presentation on slide 2, "Area M Salmon Fishery,"
and made the following points.
similar The majority of the Area M commercial fleet is composed of
year-round Alaska residents.
similar Many of these fishermen are Alaska Natives who utilize
commercial fishing to meet their subsistence needs.
similar The Area M fishery targets sockeye.
similar The issue of incidental catch of chum salmon is taken very
seriously; the fleet is taking precautions to reduce chum
harvest.
similar Fishermen took a voluntary 61 percent reduction in fishing
time in 2022 to allow chum salmon to migrate through the Area
M region.
3:49:45 PM
MS. LEACH advanced to slide 3, "Alaska BOF Proposal 140," and
provided the following comments:
similar Proposal 140 sought to close commercial salmon fishing during
specific times during Area M's June fishery to try to get more
chum salmon up the AYK river system.
similar Only a small number of AKY chum salmon pass through Area M.
similar Proposal 140 replicated the 2001-2003 ADF&G Management Plan
that increased chum harvest and had no noticeable benefit to
AYK chum stocks.
similar After the regulation was changed in 2004, the AYK again saw
returns of 2 million plus chum salmon.
similar The four members who voted against the proposal felt it
couldn't guarantee increased chum passage during the
designated windows.
similar The board felt that data driven caps, triggers, and windows in
the adaptive management agreement would more effectively
measure when chum were in the area.
similar The decision was based on science presented during the
meeting.
similar Sampling data indicated that about 17 percent of the chum
harvested in the June Area M fishery were from coastal western
Alaska.
similar The Area M harvest of coastal western Alaska chum is 5.5
percent of the total harvest and escapement in the Yukon,
Kuskokwim, Bristol Bay, and Norton Sound areas.
similar An ADF&G report by Dr. Kathrine Howard attributed the Yukon
chum salmon decline to the heat wave during their 2016-2019
ocean years.
3:52:31 PM
MS. LEACH advanced to slide 4 and spoke to the following
measures that the Board of Fisheries took to mitigate chum
harvests in Area M when it adopted the amended Proposal 136:
22% REDUCTION
First fishing period shorted by 22%
CLOSURE 2.4 TIMES LONGER
Closure between 1st & 2nd is 2.4 times longer
25% LESS FISHING TIME
Second fishing
period shortened by
25%
CLOSED AN ENTIRE AREA
Closed Sanak Island Section & Unimak District to all
gear types
MS. LEACH briefly displayed slide 5 and explained that it shows
the difference between pre and post Board of Fish actions on
Area M.
3:53:58 PM
MS. LEACH advanced to slide 6, "Additional Actions," and
provided the following comments:
similar The Board of Fisheries recognized that the Area M fleet
voluntarily implemented a Cooperative Management Agreement.
similar 100 percent of the fleet agreed to share all harvest data,
monitor chum harvest in-season, and change fishing areas when
directed to provide an opportunity for more chum salmon to
pass through Area M.
similar This adaptive approach is better than fixed closures as a way
to ensure fewer chum salmon are harvested in the South
Peninsula Fishery.
similar The Board of Fisheries adopted triggers and caps for the south
Unimak and Shumagin Island sections.
similar ADF&G will restrict fishing time and close areas if the caps
are exceeded.
She deferred to Kiley Thompson to discuss the Adaptive
Management Plan.
3:54:52 PM
KILEY THOMPSON, President, Area M Seiners Association, Sand
Point, Alaska, presented a PowerPoint relating to the Area M
Adaptive Fleet Management Strategies that were adopted in 2022
and overseen by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G).
He began on slide 2, "Overview of Strategy for 2022," and spoke
to the following:
The goal of this was to provide time for passage of
chum salmon through Area M in June, while still
optimizing a sockeye fishery.
Concept
• Use near real-time data to monitor and reduce chum
harvest in Area M June salmon fishery
Execution
• Fishermens Board managed time/area closures that
changed through June in response to fishing reports
from processors
Results
• Led to >50% reduction in chum harvest in June 2022 when
compared to June 2021
3:56:25 PM
MR. THOMPSON advanced to slide 3, "Involved Organizations," and
provided the following comments:
similar A seven-member board of active fishermen used daily reports
from processors and the fleet to make near real-time decisions
on fishing times and area for all 60 seine boats in Area M
during June.
similar A cooperative test fishery with ADF&G assessed the abundance
of chum salmon in three locations in the South Peninsula for
two days before and the first day of the June fishery.
similar The seine fleet lost the first day of the fishery to better
assess the abundance of chum salmon.
similar The test fisheries showed a decreasing abundance of chum
salmon, which allowed a partial day of fishing on June 11 to
assess chum salmon harvest with the entire fleet fishing.
similar Later the management board announced time reductions based on
the previous day's harvest.
similar As the season progressed, individual fleets stood down
separate from the fleets in other locations.
similar This only works with the flexibility of time and area, fleet
management, cooperation, and responsive reporting.
3:57:31 PM
MR. THOMPSON briefly displayed slide 4, "RC104 Improvements in
the Adaptive Fleet Management for 2023," and advised that the
Area M seiners and Aleutians East Borough created an app to
improve data tracking, which will increase the speed at which
decisions can be made and relayed to the fleet. He directed
attention to the graphic on slide 5 that shows the home page
that captures aggregate fleet data in real time. He explained
that the numbers in red represent sockeye salmon and the numbers
in green represent chum salmon. The data is updated every 30
minutes to reflect ADF&G or processor e-landings. In the event
that chum salmon harvests are too high, the board selects the
yellow "Closure" button on the top left of the screen, and the
fleet is notified of the closure via email and they must stop
fishing. The green "standdown" button on the top right of the
screen is for on-the-ground-reports. If a group of fishermen see
an influx of chum salmon, they can select that button to show
that they are voluntarily standing down to allow chums to pass
through the area. Slide 6 illustrates that the beginning time
and ending time in a region is recorded for both closures and
standdowns.
3:59:12 PM
MR. THOMPSON concluded that the commercial fishermen in Area M
are committed to decreasing the harvest of chum salmon. He
opined that the bills to shut down the entire Area M June
fishery don't even align with Proposal 140. They seek to close
the North Peninsula and Nelson Lagoon salmon fisheries that
don't harvest any western Alaska chums. They will have a
devastating impact on communities and the economy in the region
with little benefit to AYK chum salmon.
3:59:52 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR asked for his thoughts on how to prevent the
practice of chum chucking and how people who aren't part of the
fishery can be assured that it's working.
MR. THOMPSON said the enforcement arm of the department has
drones that are operating all the time so the fishermen know
their activities are being monitored. He added that it's most
important to stop the fishing in locations where there are so
many chum salmon that it potentially encourages a poor decision.
Last year the fleet didn't fish when the chums were in the area.
4:01:39 PM
MS. LEACH added that while there may have been some chum
chucking, it is not the standard for the seine fleet in Area M;
commercial fishermen don't support wanton waste.
4:02:11 PM
SENATOR KAWASAKI asked for an explanation of the Adaptive
Management Plan.
MR. THOMPSON said it was voluntary in 2022 and there was 100
percent participation. Peer pressure kept participants in line
in 2022, but in 2023 fishermen must sign a contract with their
processor agreeing that they won't chuck chum or fish wherever
they want. The stiffest penalty for a fisherman who violates
that contract is the loss of their market until the end of June.
The processor won't buy the catch. This is part of what
encouraged the Board of Fisheries to accept the Adaptive
Management Plan. To a further question, he clarified that this
is not in regulation. It's a commitment and agreement between
the Area M Seiners Association and concerned Area M fishermen
and their processors. ADF&G will provide oversight and has said
it will close the fishery if the fleet doesn't uphold the
agreement.
SENATOR KAWASAKI asked whether the processors would refuse to
buy fish from fishermen who don't participate in the agreement
or who fish outside the windows.
MR. THOMPSON replied that the processors have said they will not
take fish from a fisherman who doesn't participate in the plan.
SENATOR KAWASAKI commented that the plan is no longer voluntary.
MR. THOMPSON confirmed that it was voluntary in 2022 and is
mandatory in 2023.
4:06:53 PM
SENATOR KAUFMAN wondered about the upload and download coverage
in Area M for fishermen to use the new app that was described.
MR. THOMPSON said the app was developed after Starlink was
introduced so every fishermen is able to use the app on their
phone to access the e-landing system. Part of the contract
fishermen will sign waives confidentiality with the e-landing
system so data from all the boats can be aggregated. The app
will report how many chums are harvested and where they were
harvested. He said technology is finally coming to remote
Alaska.
SENATOR KAUFMAN said he appreciated the explanation.
4:08:13 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR commented on how secretive fishermen tend to be
about where they're fishing and what they're catching. He asked
if everyone would know where all the Area M fishermen are at all
times.
MR. THOMPSON said the South Peninsula covers about 200 miles and
the entire fleet will operate in just five or six spots, so it's
not a big secret where people are fishing.
4:09:34 PM
SENATOR CLAMAN noted that a criticism he heard about the seven-
member board that was formed in 2022 was that it only
represented commercial fishing interests. He asked why it didn't
include one or two people who represented subsistence interests.
MR. THOMPSON said he understands the criticism but this program
is designed to have as much information as possible about what's
going on in this area so every member is out on the water
actively fishing on a commercial vessel in the area.
4:11:25 M
CO-CHAIR BISHOP asked if the cooperative management team would
consider adding an ex officio member from the Yukon and from the
Kuskokwim to the team as a good-faith effort. He said Area M
fishermen certainly aren't immune to what's happening to people
on the river system and they shouldn't think for a moment that
it couldn't happen to them at some time in the future. He
continued to say, "We're all trying to get to a place where
hopefully our salmon runs don't go extinct; it's that critical
and you know that."
He asked Ms. Leach to talk about the EZ zone and the SeaShare
program and whether it was applicable to Area M.
4:13:12 PM
MS. LEACH suggested he ask the Alaska Department of Fish and
Game (ADF&G); she didn't know anything about that.
4:13:31 PM
CO-CHAIR BISHOP asked why somebody theoretically chucked chums
in the past.
MR. THOMPSON said chum-chucking was the result of having
management caps, which can result in bad decisions. He noted
that the board set triggers to prevent the problems that result
from overharvest.
CO-CHAIR BISHOP asked for the difference in price between chum
salmon and sockeye salmon and if fishermen catch both at the
same time.
MR. THOMPSON replied that both species are caught at the same
time, but the price for chum salmon in Area M is always the
lowest in the state. Last year it was $0.25/pound. He said they
don't make a lot of money but they help pay for fuel. He
recalled that the price last year for sockeye salmon started at
$1.25/pound.
CO-CHAIR BISHOP asked Mr. Leach how much science was behind the
comment on slide 3 that the 2016 to 2019 heat wave decimated
Yukon chum salmon which affected the 2021-2022 runs.
MS. LEACH said that came from Dr. Katherine Howard's report that
was distributed during the Area M meeting. She noted that the
devastation made national news in 2019 when chum washed up on
the banks of the Yukon. This attracted the interest of a number
of scientists.
4:16:44 PM
SENATOR KAWASAKI asked how many chum salmon were caught during
the reduction in 2022.
MR. THOMPSON stated that 544,000 were caught.
SENATOR KAWASAKI asked how many were caught the year before
that.
MR. THOMPSON replied the catch was 1.6 million.
SENATOR KAWASAKI asked how many sockeye salmon were caught in
those two years.
MR. THOMPSON estimated that 3-3.5 million sockeye were caught in
2021 and 5.5-6 million sockeye were caught in 2022. He said that
sockeye fishing was more successful when fewer chums were
caught.
CO-CHAIR GIESSEL thanked Ms. Leach and Mr. Thompson.
4:17:45 PM
CO-CHAIR GIESSEL invited Curt Chamberlain to testify.
4:17:55 PM
CURTIS CHAMBERLAIN, Assistant General Counsel, Calista,
Anchorage, Alaska, provided invited testimony during Part II of
the Area M overview. He read the following prepared testimony:
[Original punctuation provided.]
Good afternoon. My name is Curt Chamberlain speaking
on behalf of Calista Corporation. I am a Calista
shareholder and a member of the Aniak Tribe. I grew
up living off the land and commercial fishing in the
middle Kuskokwim until the industry collapsed in the
mid 90s.
I want to start by addressing the criticisms that came
to Proposition 140 and more specifically to SB 128.
The largest complaint was of the impact closing the
fishery would have on the Aleutian Peninsula. They
worried of schools closing, outmigration, and the
boroughs and communities losing much needed tax
revenue. We at Calista aren't deaf to those grave
concerns. In fact, we have been living that nightmare
for the last 3 decades. The economy in the Calista
region has crashed along with the salmon population.
Our region has the highest unemployment and poverty
levels in the state and nation. Communities have
dwindled, outmigration is rampant, particularly among
the young, and our communities are suffering. In my
region, the middle Kuskokwim, the native population
declined by 1/3 over the last 10 years. Crooked
Creek's population has declined by half over the last
20 years and its school is now in danger of closing.
Georgetown is now populated by one household and the
tribe is looking for a way to motivate people to move
back into the community. Many students must attend
boarding schools away from their families. With the
loss of the youth comes the loss of the traditional
safety network inherent in many native communities,
along with the loss of language and culture.
4:19:41 PM
The Aleutian peninsula, however, need not worry. With
nearly $2.8 billion in economic output resulting from
commercial fishing, the Aleutian Peninsula dwarfs all
other regions of Alaska. It controls 2 of the largest
4 fishing ports in the world, including the largest,
Dutch harbor, which has held that honor for the last
24 years. The Aleutian peninsula has other fisheries,
including herring, groundfish, cod, and crab to name a
few. It is the is the only region where salmon is not
its primary fishing export, and even without salmon,
the Aleutian peninsula would still be the top volume
fishery in Alaska. The Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers, by
comparison, have only one fishery: Salmon. And last
year, these two regions were the only ones in the
state closed to commercial fishing. The Aleutian
peninsula is far better suited to endure the closure
of its salmon fishery than the Calista region was.
This last week I was asked if it's appropriate to go
to the legislature if you're unsatisfied with the
board of fish's decision. Naturally, the answer would
be no. However, when special interests run the board
and the board ignores its constitutional, statutory
and regulatory mandate, it becomes appropriate for the
legislature to implement statutory guardrails to
ensure its intent is adhered to.
4:21:17 PM
The underlying problem with the fisheries is
structural. Despite a clear and unambiguous statutory
subsistence priority which has been upheld by the
Courts, this priority is illusory. While our
commercial fishing harvest is at or near historic high
levels, our in-river salmon runs statewide are
suffering due to overfishing and competition from
hatchery salmon. The nearly 120k residents of the
Yukon Kuskokwim Watershed are without a subsistence
option, and there are subsistence restrictions
impacting nearly every Alaskan statewide. The Board
of Fish customarily has three commercial fishing
seats, three sportfishing seats, and only one
subsistence seat, though some governors have ignored
that custom in favor of special interests in the past.
Chief Ridley already went into great detail on the
failures of the Board of Fish. The current state
management of fisheries is pro commercial fish and pro
hatchery, which has catastrophic consequences to in
river salmon runs. The Department of Law openly
advocated to the Board of Fish that it had no duty to
limit harvest in Area M to protect the runs in the
terminal fisheries, despite the fact that in 2021,
Area M harvested over a million chum. The courts
failed to enforce the legislature's mandates in the
Native Village of Elim Decision. What we are left
with is a subsistence priority that is nothing more
than window dressing. The coastal commercial fishing
industry essentially runs the state fisheries, leaving
subsistence and sport fishermen to fight over what's
left, if anything.
4:23:38 PM
The last article I've attached to the record outlines
the distrust between the subsistence users in the
Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers in the 1990s. Since that
time, salmon stocks in the Yukon and Kuskokwim have
declined an additional 90 percent. There can be no
argument that this fishery is being managed properly,
or that the subsistence users are being adequately
represented.
If we're to fix what is wrong with our fisheries
statewide, we must implement adequate guardrails to
ensure subsistence is protected.
Finally, with respect to the importance of salmon to
our region and the impact of its collapse, I would
like to invite the members of this panel to our region
to see its effects. It's nearly impossible to put
into words.
4:24:53 PM
CO-CHAIR BISHOP thanked Mr. Chamberlain for his testimony. He
relayed that earlier he suggested the members of the Board of
Fisheries visit the people who live along the Yukon and
Kuskokwim rivers and the committee visit Area M so everyone is
able to get a firsthand look at the situation because this issue
will not be solved in isolation.
MS. CHAMBERLAIN agreed that in-person visits would be beneficial
and appreciated.
CO-CHAIR GIESSEL thank Mr. Chamberlain.
4:26:30 PM
CO-CHAIR GIESSEL invited Virgil Umphenour to provide his
testimony.
4:26:46 PM
VIRGIL UMPHENOUR, Member, ADF&G Fairbanks Advisory Committee,
Fairbanks, Alaska, provided invited testimony during Part II of
the Area M Overview. He stated that he owns a fish processing
plant in Fairbanks and had processed fish on the Yukon River and
other areas since 1985. He served three terms on the Board of
Fisheries (BOF) and has been a member of the Pacific Salmon
Commission since 1988. He opined that what the BOF did in Area M
during the last meeting was to cede authority to the processors
to serve as the managers. He described the joint venture fishery
and what happened after the 200 mile limit because effective to
emphasize that it doesn't work to let the fleet regulate itself.
He relayed that as a fish processor, he fills out fish tickets
and reports the numbers and species of fish that were caught to
ADF&G. Me maintained that the large volume of fish that seiners
catch is not conducive to timely counting when they come on
board the vessel or when the tender sucks them off with a
vacuum. The fish aren't counted until they're delivered to the
processor and it's doubtful that the fish from each vessel is
kept separate. He said it's this kind of situation that resulted
in statehood.
4:30:05 PM
MR. UMPHENOUR discussed the Board of Fisheries deliberations in
1995 on the proposal to cut the chum cap for Area M. His view
was that there hadn't been a sustained yield chum salmon fishery
in the northern Norton Sound region for four years, but not all
board members agreed. He said he decided to write a definition
for "sustained yield" but as the effort gathered momentum over
five years it transitioned to a sustainable salmon policy. He
said he wanted to read from the statute the department wrote in
1990 to address this issue.
4:31:51 PM
He read portions of AS 16.05.251. Regulations to the Board of
Fisheries.
(e).... The board shall adopt criteria for the
allocation of fishery resources and shall use the
criteria as appropriate to particular allocation
decisions. The criteria may include factors such as
(1) the history of each personal use, sport,
guided sport, and commercial fishery;
MR. UMPHENOUR recounted the history of the fishery in Area M
starting with the codfish fishery in the late 1800s to early
1900s. Commercial fishing in the Yukon drainage and Norton Sound
started with the Russians and continued when the US purchased
Alaska.
4:33:32 PM
MR. UMPHENOUR read Sec. 16.05.251 (e)(2).
(2) the number of residents and nonresidents who
have participated in each fishery in the past and the
number of residents and nonresidents who can
reasonably be expected to participate in the future;
He recounted the number of residents and non-residents who have
commercial fishing permits in the area. The total is 2,222,
roughly 300 of which are in Area M but he only knows about 70
seiners that have been fishing recently. He said he's also aware
that there are a lot more subsistence and personal use
fishermen; in the Fairbanks area alone there are more than
100,000.
4:34:46 PM
MR. UMPHENOUR read Sec. 16.05.251(e)(3).
(3) the importance of each fishery for providing
residents the opportunity to obtain fish for personal
and family consumption;
He said this is super important because there's no opportunity
to obtain salmon in the Fairbanks area; it's a catch and release
salmon fishery.
MR. UMPHENOUR read Sec. 16.05.251(e)(4).
(4) the availability of alternative fisheries
resources;
He said there is no alternative fishery other than perhaps
Norton Sound that has a small king crab fishery. In 2021 Area M
had 225 non-salmon fishing permits, many of which are for
groundfish. He relayed that he was on the BOF in 1997 when the
groundfish fishery was developed in state waters. The board
instituted a 20-pot limit to "keep the big boys from Seattle
out." He also described writing a Tanner Crab Management Plan in
1998. To ensure sustainability, fishing was limited to daylight
hours and a 20-pot pot limit was instituted. He highlighted that
the Kodiak part of that fishery is the largest crab fishery in
the state now. The harvest in Area M this last winter was 1.7
million crabs and the fishermen got paid $3/pound. He said this
is to illustrate that there are a lot of other fisheries that
the AYK doesn't have, especially the Yukon and Kuskokwim.
MR. UMPHENOUR spoke to Sec. 16.05.251(e)(5) and (6).
(5) the importance of each fishery to the economy
of the state;
(6) the importance of each fishery to the economy
of the region and local area in which the fishery is
located;
MR. UMPENOUR reported that in 2021 the average income from
salmon for Area M seiners was "some $701,000 for maybe 6 weeks
fishing." He relayed that he wrote Proposal 140 in 2001 that did
away with the chum cap. He called them a ridiculous waste of
time because anybody threatened with the closure of their
business if the cap is exceeded will not be inclined to report
those fish.
CO-CHAIR GIESSEL asked him to wrap up his testimony.
4:39:48 PM
MR. UMPHENOUR read Sec. 16.05.251(e)(7).
(7) the importance of each fishery in providing
recreational opportunities for residents and
nonresidents.
He highlighted that Area M can boast that a Vietnam veteran from
Fairbanks caught the world record halibut at Dutch Harbor.
4:40:08 PM
CO-CHAIR BISHOP asked whether the Yukon River fishermen still
opposed in-river incubation hatcheries.
MR. UMPHENOUR replied that there's still little support for that
idea.
CO-CHAIR GIESSEL thanked Mr. Umphenour for his testimony.
4:42:09 PM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Co-Chair Giessel adjourned the Senate Resources Committee
meeting at 4:42 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| Tanana Chiefs Conference - Chief Brian Ridley backup.pdf |
SRES 5/1/2023 3:30:00 PM |
|
| Area M Seiners Association - Frances Leach Presentation.pdf |
SRES 5/1/2023 3:30:00 PM |
|
| Calista - Curt Chamberlain - Backup.pdf |
SRES 5/1/2023 3:30:00 PM |
|
| Area M Seiners Association - Kiley Thompson Presentation + RC104 Backup.pdf |
SRES 5/1/2023 3:30:00 PM |
|
| ADFG Response to SRES Area M Overview on 05.01.23.pdf |
SRES 5/1/2023 3:30:00 PM |
|
| Concerned Area M Fishermen Response to SRES 05.01.23.pdf |
SRES 5/1/2023 3:30:00 PM |