Board of Fish Proposal Comments

[sixlines]

Salty
What i would like to see, is the handtroll fleet remain a commercial fishery. For one, the sport charter fleet is in a big take over of the handtroll permits. When the charter fleet offsets the sport commercial catch from people who make their living from handtrolling to a charter fishery, the powertrollers may be up against one of the stongest organizations in the state; stop and think about if charter boat operators hold high interest in handtroll fleet and they decide the powertroller is taking more than their share. Im sure you can see it happening around Sitka and other southeast communities. As far as listening to the ATA and Southeast trollers saying they aren't getting their share of the hatchery kings of the southeast, you kind of know how the Yakutat trollers feel about you hatchery king fishermen catching our treaty kings, now i feel that you should not be able to keep treaty kings during a hatchery opening, your areas should be shrunk down, hatchery should have to produce clip-fin kings salmon and a troller engaged in a hatchery opening should only be able to keep clip-fin kings. Alaska Sportfish Association would most likely agree with me. I am a troller and I feel that you now by reading this don't like me very much, now you know how I feel about all of you. I am a commercial fishermen in Yakutat and as a matter of fact, Im a third generation troller; I have experienced three hundered king salmon days on the Fairweather grounds and one the W-grounds and even south of corrination. We all have history in these waters and I would love to back you in any way I could but I don't believe that we should turn our backs on any of our fellow trollers.

[Salty]

Being able to fish until we get the guideline harvest range for the winter or May 1st must help as it gives you another 15 days in late April in most recent years and most likely again this year. Extending the winter season until we get to the guideline harvest range plus the Alaska Hatchery harvest in the winter, another 5 thousand or so, would help you guys. It would probably add another week or so this year and maybe even get us until May 15th.
I don't see it as a proposal but I suppose you could append it to 321.
The other idea I have floated around is to view these spring openings as Alaska Hatchery and Market opportunity openings. That way we could get sometime in Yakutat and the Craig area in May and June. The problem is that the troll fleet, and as a result the ATA Board, as much as I love them, is dominated by summer, part time, and freezer interests. They are not generally willing to give up summer production for the relatively small segment of the fleet which fishes year round.

[sixlines]

Salty
I thank all of you for fighting to add the hatchery kings to winter quota but in March and April some days we have a 20-30% kings caught with clip-fins. I reveiw hatchery troll catch records, and you don't have that high of hatchery kings catch percentage against treaty fish and the number I just said is most deffinately an unofficial number, we can't even get a spring fishery in place to test these numbers; but one thing is for certain we do catch hatchery kings. With all that in play, Yakutat should not be deprived of participating in a spring fishery at least a 2-3 week opener for two years. If Yakutat didn't fall within the guidelines of what the trollers of southeast fall in, I wouldn't argue about it anymore. I believe that we should no longer be deprived of making a living trolling in Yakutat when fellow trollers 250 miles south reap as you say, "a lions share."

[yak2you2]

Adding kings to the winter quota, and having a spring opening in the Yakutat area are two completely different issues, both of which I always have and will continue to endorse. Do you feel any better for announcing that I have a job? It's nothing that everybody on this board hasn't already heard me say. Having a job doesn't mean that a person is any less passionate about garnering good things for their community or their fishery, there's just a right way and a wrong way of doing things. My way is to try to be diplomatic and get a full understanding of the issues. Your way is.....well, becoming more obvious every time you post.

[kingquota]

As a Yakutat troller, I must say that with all the talk here about trollers sticking together and having something like a united front, I feel a little bit like some trollers do not feel that the 67 hand trollers and the 18 power trollers of Yakutat are not part of the group suggesting trollers are together. It is very difficult trying to get our trollers to participate in the Spring King Trolling season when we meet opposition from the ATA.

Our arguement that it is not fair nor is it reasonable to expect us to do one of two options. One is to sit out the Spring King Season for two months and then expect to pay our bills when they finally open the summer season or two; travel with our 16 to 21 foot skiffs the two hundred miles to the nearest hatchery season for kings. Then find a place to stay buy our food and try to send money home to our families so they can survive while we are in the hatchery area. What hurts the worse is not only do we have to fight with the state dep't of commercial fisheries but with the powerful ATA sitting right alongside the Department on the same table and spouting the same words to keep us from fishing our right to the Pacific Salmon Treaty King Salmon.. Our Area D has the Alsek River which is the main River in the Yakutat area that is or should be the one under consideration for the Pacific Salmon Treaty for the Alsek River goes into Canada. The DCF doesn't use the Alsek River for the King Salmon Quota, It uses the in state river as an excuse to keep our area d closed

To us trollers in Yakutat, The Hatchery fishery is a joke and it should be named as it is, namely the North Pacific King Salmon Treaty Quota season. The most hatchery Kings Caught is 39 % . The most ever caught. that means that the wild kings are 61 %. It is a joke but none of us yakutat trollers are laughing.

I also remember when the State Board of Fish and Game asked all of us to give up a FEW SEASONS and two of our troll lines (Both power and hand) until such times the kings are back to an acceptable level. As we all know the hand trollers are still trying to get their two lines back. The Yakutat trollers have not been open since 1981 for the 75 days until the last few years where the state extended the winter troll for five, ten and fifteen days. That still leaves us with out a fishing season for sixty days. We trollers of Yakutat CANNOT, I repeat, CANNOT even troll for humpies, chums sockeye or coho's during the Hatchery seasons.

Yakutat has a proposal and a petition signed by 126 people with families asking the state to cease this illegal practice of excluding Yakutat from fishing.It has come to a emergency for Yakutat. between 2000 and 2007 the population of Yakutat fell from 808 to 606 and this year alone five separate families have moved to the larger cities. How can the State of Alaska allow the Department of Commercial Fisheries to exclude a total community from their livelyhood?? I guess what I am asking is for support from the trolling community to help us to survive this Hatchery Crisis we have at our doorstep!!

[sixlines]

TO:yak2you2
Well,just to let know I'm understanding what ATA is trying to do,there trying to increase the winter troll quota so when april 30 comes they can take the remainder of the winter quota that was not caught and add it to their spring quota and even have more fish to catch.If they want to extend the winter fishery to May 15 Im on board,But without more time for Yakutat fishermen to fish past april 30 I myself would not even think about backing ATA or southeast on a increase in quota.If ATA and the rest of the troll fleet in alaska would help a small group of fishermen get back whats rightfully ours..I Believe they would get 50 to 60 new members.You know all these hatchery kings that are released from hatcheries freequent yak-bay and feed on our local herring because we catch them and you know it. ps:with out fishing time added to any winter quota yakutat gets nothing.

[farmed fish eater]

Look both of you, there is a right and wrong way. I suppport both of you on many issue's. But dont support you two on hiding behind some screen names on community issues where both of you two crybabies were voted into position. And you two are only creating entertainment for the people who read these blogs. I mean the people/some fisherman/ and maybe a few blog readers that the two of you show up in Sitka with some of this energy, and do what you were elected to do and not what you want to do. I would assume the community is going to be embarrased to know that when you get to the board of fish meeting everyone will be done laughing out loud at the Yakutat fleet . I would only wonder if it is Yakutat's best intrest to send either of you to bickering men. As far as the pettion being a joke the only joke is a grown men hiding behind a screen name talking about eachother. Yakutat should get back what is their's or was their's the rest of the fleet has got back their's, those are the issue's I wish two board members would hash out. For any of the blog readers on here that will be attending the board of fish meeting take a min. to find these two yahoo's and meet the guy's that are carring the torch for Yakutat I'm going to. On a closing to this post I would like to say these two need to find better ways to construct themselves. The whales will be back in a month hold on yak2you it will be sureal, I have read. And for sixlines I can see that you have wide range of the facts on these such issue's and a great passion for trolling and the trollers of Yakutat but would recommend to do it in a profesional way. The board of fish wont be doing a back ground check on either of you two seeing how you were voted to represent the community.But the community after reading these should take a different stance next time. These meetings are serious issue's that will determine a community's outlook on many game issue's over the next couple years. You guy's should get together your antimosity and take it at these orginazations and I guarantee you will get some place. But for now I am out I also have a job.sorry sixlines , I know you discourage work and fisherman.

[John Murray]

sixlines, ATA DOESN'T support pro320 or 321.There has been some support for 321 in the past(minimal),for this board cycle from ATA there was no support.It was felt with low king numbers it wouldn't be wise to further reduce the summer quota.I have supported 321 in past but there was little support from the fleet or the board.I still hope we can gather that support in the future.
Is supporting ATA (menbership wise)a good idea?To use pro321 for an example if more ATA members spoke to Dale and the board members about their concerns it might change the the vote someday.One of the most effective ways is to work within the system.Become a member,nominate a Yak fisherman to be on the board.Call up,write the board.
I for one appreciate hearing differing points of view.It can help one gauge the support or lack of.Also one with concerns can learn some of the reasons and backround on why the ATA board went the way we did.
On a positive note it sounds like a YAK handtroller is trying to become the handtroll rep on the ATA board.It a good move to have someone from your village get on the board .