On Friday, 10/13/23, the Board of Fisheries (BOF) passed ACR 11, 12 & 13. These ACRs all effect the
SEAK Troll Fishery. ATA supports 12 & 13. We are relieved that the Board voted to schedule these in the
upcoming Statewide Salmon meeting.
We were warned that the success rate for ACR passage is extremely low. Having our issues passed and
scheduled was a longshot. Success illustrates the Board’s concern regarding this issue. They should be
concerned – The language change by ADFG undermines the BOF process.
ACRs 11 & 12 are similar. Both seek to revise the Management Plan so that it coincides with the new
tiers brought forth from the Pacific Salmon Treaty. We prefer ACR 12, by Tad Fujioka, since ACR 11,
introduced by ADFG, includes some questionable verbage in it. Tad’s ACR 12 addresses this adjustment
in a cleaner fashion.
ACR 13 rectifies the after-the-fact ADFG modification of the language in the Board of Fish March, 2022
agreement (RC 178). By artfully removing two words “sport fish”, the meaning of the entire agreement
was changed to an open-ended non-resident sport fish priority on Chinook harvest.
There is more work to be done. ATA Attendance in Homer for the Statewide Salmon meeting next
month (Nov 28) to defend our fishery is critical. Critical also are written comments from Trollers
supporting ATA’s position once we get that position in to the BOF. Stay tuned here as we will post the
comment deadline as soon as we learn what it is.
