CONCERNED FOR THEIR FUTURE, GULF OF ALASKA TRAWL FISHERMEN CEASE

FISHING TO TAKE A MESSAGE TO THE NORTH PACIFIC FISHERY MANAGEMENT

COUNCIL: DONT EXPERIMENT WITH OUR FISHERIES!
For Immediate Release
January 28, 2016

For More Information Contact:

Julie Bonney, Alaska Groundfish Data Bank (907) 250-4706
Heather Mann, Midwater Trawlers Cooperative (541) 272-4544
Bob Krueger, Alaska Whitefish Trawlers Association (509) 860-4132
Kiley Thompson, Peninsula Fishermen's Coalition (907) 952-6890
Beth Stewart, Peninsula Fishermen's Coalition (907) 635-4336

A majority of Gulf of Alaska groundfish trawlers will voluntarily suspend fishing in

order to attend the North Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting in Portland,
Oregon the first week in February. They are concerned that the recent State of
Alaska proposal to restructure their fisheries would seriously harm their livelihoods
and the economies of their fishery dependent communities.
Instead of harvesting fish and pursuing their livelihood, many of the vessel owners,
skippers and crew that deliver into Kodiak, Sand Point and King Cove will travel
over 3,000 miles round-trip to express their concerns to decision makers at a
fisheries management meeting in Portland, Oregon.

This is really quite unique, said Julie Bonney, Executive Director of the Alaska
Groundfish Data Bank based in Kodiak, Alaska. Fishermen agreeing to stand down,
essentially losing income, in order to make this trip to provide their input
demonstrates just how important this change in management is to the fishing
industry.
All of these vessels compete with each other, and the fact that there has been a
consensus among these competitive fishermen to stop fishing and go to the meeting
underscores the urgency they feel.

The state really upset the apple cart by proposing a completely different approach
to manage these fisheries and it was pretty late in the game, said Heather Mann,
Director of the Midwater Trawlers Cooperative. The meeting in Portland is the first
opportunity for harvesters and processors directly impacted by any new
management program to provide their valuable input on the states recent proposal,
continued Mann, as the new alternative was added late in the October 2015 Council
meeting with little opportunity for public comment until now.
Fishermen prefer to be on the water, said Kiley Thompson from Sand Point, Alaska
and president of Peninsula Fishermens Coalition, plying their trade and harvesting

fish, not traveling thousands of miles to stand in front of a large group of decision
makers and other stakeholders to provide public testimony. Bob Krueger,
president of Alaska Whitefish Trawlers Association, continues, This change in
management is so very important to the livelihoods of industry participants and the
Gulf of Alaska communities they support that they are suspending their business
activities (without pay) and traveling on their own dime in order to provide their
input. This really says something about the dedication of these fishermen and their
willingness to do what they feel is necessary to engage in the process.
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council, charged with managing federal
fisheries off the state of Alaska, meets from February 1st through the 9th in Portland,
Oregon. The NPFMC is made up of voting members from Alaska, Washington and
Oregon and meets five times per year in varying locations. Currently, the Council is
in the process of considering a major change to how they manage Gulf of Alaska
groundfish trawl fisheries. While a rationalized management program has been
under consideration in one way or another for over two decades, the Council is now
finally poised to follow through on a promise to the industry that ends the
competitive race for fish and provides fishermen with the much needed tools to
successfully harvest groundfish while simultaneously providing the incentives they
need to avoid unwanted catch such as salmon and halibut.

Harvesters and processors directly impacted by a new management regime have

worked collectively over recent years to develop a cooperative fishery approach
that stops the race for fish. The Council process is very transparent, allowing
stakeholder input at each step. However, after the change in state leadership in late
2014, the Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish & Game announced that
their preference was for a very different approach to management than the program
put forth by the previous Commissioner that was designed with significant input
from impacted stakeholders.

The stand-down impacts the three Alaska communities of Kodiak, Sand Point and
King Cove and virtually all of the seafood processors located in those communities.
The Council currently has the Gulf of Alaska Trawl Bycatch Management agenda
item scheduled for Thursday, February 4th and the large contingent of fishermen
will begin arriving in the few days leading up to that.