Bulk Ratel'.S. Postage

PAID-\n hOfolJ:I'. -\I.l<.;k.t

Pprffillll17<J

805 West Third AvenueAnchorage. Alaska 99501

(907) 277-5845Published By

Bering Sea Fishermen's AssociationApril 1981Volume2, Number 1

Japan to -t king salmon trawl interceptions

"Kazunoko." salted herring roe, is displayed at the Tokyo Wbolesale Market.

Preliminary injunction issued on herring case

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•

b~ Mel MonsenAn rcement was reached by

Japan c and Western Alaska reprc­S('IlI,ltIV on limiting trawl inlcn.:cp·lioll\ of kin alman in the Bering Sea.I hi\ l:omprollli\L' wa~ presented to theNorth Pal:ltil: FishcTV ManagementCounci! (NPI'MC) during their Marchl1ll:ctilll.! and \\as greeted \,-'illl orenarms b} the 1TIl:l1lbcrs 01 the COUlll.:il.

l l1llt:r lhe agrecment a total limitof 6~.OOO king s<.!lmon \\-ould be im­po'ed. I hi 6',tXMl "ould be di'idedamong foreign natitlll'i in proportion totheir indl\ idual ground fish allol.:ation(i.e il Japan "as entitled to 84"'. of thetotal groundf"h allocatioo 10 the Ber­109 Sea the~ "ould be eotitled 84"'. ofthe 65,000 kiog ,almoo or 54,600).

Once an) nation reached it m·dis idualltmtt for king salmon theo allof that nat.oO\ trawlers would be pro­hIbited from trawling in I PFC AreaII and small stati\lical blocks I and 2"ithm I PFC Area I for .. hateverportion of January, Februar~,March,October O\ember, and DecemberwhICh remam 10 that fishmg year.

rhi, agreement wa:-. proposed asan amendment to the Preliminar~

Fi,her~ Managemeot Plan (PMP) toact as an Interim measure reducingthese mudcmal catches. While this in­terim measure b In effect the CouncIl"ill be altempting 10 find a loog termsolutioo 10 the problem through theiramendment package number three\\hich i, currently out for public hear­ings anti rc\ icv...

Currl'nlh. the Council has rCl,.'om­ml'ndcd to National Marine Fishcric...Sen icc. v.hi\.:h has authority o\('r theI'MI'. that all ameodment be drafted(0 indutlc the joint statemcnh pro\i­... ion .... The amendment should 'oon hedral.ed by the NMI·S and then w,lI gothrough the- P\lP amendment prol'Css.

The 65.(XXl king salmon "ould bea reduction o\('r the la'it 1"0 yean, cal­che, of 100,167 io 1979 and 111.696 in1980. Clem Tillion. the Couocil'schairman staled, "The agreement isprobabiy as good Or belter thananything "e could have worked out.The council is nm only satisfied. il isver~ happ~."

32 footlimit upheld

On Saturday evening. April4, the Alaska Board of Fisheries,chaired by Nick Szabo, voted 7-0to continue Bristol Bay's current32 foot limitation on vessellength. The Board acted afterreceiving the results of a BristolBay permit holder 1'011 whichshowed heavy ,upport, 81 "7. of2,003 ballots returned (a total of2,668 were ,eol out) for retentionof the limit.

b~ Mel MonsenU.S. Dhtrict Court Judge Jame,

htlgcrald issued a restraining orderstopping the State of Alaska from en·forcing an Alaska law which requiresprimary processing wilhin the State inthe ca,e of the Alaska Hen-iog Cor­poration.

Although earlier reports iodicatedthat the ruliog would apply to otheroperations, including salmon, lhe finalprol:ccding indicaled a \cr}' strict in­junction "hieh only applies to thefishermen and vessels participating inthe Ala,ka Herring Corporation.Order two within Judge Fitzgeraldpreliminary injunction ,peeificallyslales, " ... this injunl:tion does norappl~ to the salmon fishery."

A, parl of the preliminary injunc­tion, Fitzgerald has SCI down someguidelines for the Alaska Herring Cor­pOration. They will have to have a in­terpreler a'ailable for reporting infor­mation to the Alaska Departmenl ofFish and Game. The Coop will alsohave to post a ten thousand dollarbond and follow all Fish and Game ae­tivilY reporting requiremems.

Filzgerald issued the preliminaryinjunclion at the request of the BristolBay Marketing Coop, which filed suiton February 17, claiming that theslafute is unconslilutional. AlaskaHerring Corporation fishermen will beable to proceed with the joint ventureio which they have arraoged to selltheir fish directly to the North PacificLongline-Gillnet Associatioo, aJapanese group. The fish will be frozenon the Japanese vesseb and then ship­ped to Japao for further processing.

The following is a reprintof the preliminary injunction:

Plaimiff's Motion for PreliminaryInjunl:lion came on for hearing on~larch 23. 1981, aod all partie, beingrepresented by counsel, and the Courtha,ing heard the arguments of counsel,the Court placed 00 record its finding,.conclusions, and decision on March27, 1981 at 10:30 a.m., a traO\cript ofsaid proceeding being on fiie.

Pursuant to said Order the courtdedared certain findings and conclu­sions in SUppOTI of an Injunction whichenjoins the State of Alaska from pro­hibiting the direct sale, delivery, andshipment of unprocessed herring by theAlaska Herring COrporal ion, a joint,enlure bel ween the Bristol Bay Herr­Ing Marketing Cooperative and IheNorth Pacific Longline-GillnetAssociation, during the 1981 BristolBay herring season_ Those findiogs andconclusions are recited in the transcriptof Ihe proceedings which is on file wilhthe Court. P muant to said findingsand conslu~ lOS il IS, Iherefore,ORDERED:

I. Th t the Commi"ioner of theState of Ala,ka, Department of Fi,hand Game. is hereby enjoined from en­forcing A.S. 10.10.175 aod 5 A.A.C.39.198 with respect to the ,ale,delivery. and shipment of unprocessedherring pursuant to the operalions of

lhe Alaska Herring Corporation, ajoint \enlUre between lhe BrislOl Ba}Herring Markeling Association, the"A"odation." and lhe North PacifkLongline-Glilnct Association. the"Longlincr"," in Bri'iIOI Bay durinQ.the 19MI herring sea,on.

fhis Injunction is limited 10 lhefi"hcrmcn and \csseb participaling inlhe Ala"ka Herring Corporation(-\Hl) joint veoture. Said lojunctioo"hall indude the folloVwing acth Hies ofthe AHC:

la) Sale of gillnct caught herr­iog by the member- of the A\\oda­tion to the AHC;

(b) Deli,ery of said herring tothe Longline vessels; and

(c) Shipment of said herringaboard aid 'essels from Alaskanwaters to Japan.

2. ThCl' HilS Injunction does nOIapply to the salmon fishery_

3. That lhe AHC, Ihe Associa­tion, the Longliners, and all par­ticipants in the activilies of said-organizations shall comply with themanagemenl and conservation slat utesand regulations of the State of Alaskaaod the Alaska Department of Fishaod Game. Title 16, Alaska Statutes;Title 5, Alaska Administrative Code.

4. The AHC shall provide an in­terpreter who is fluent in spoken andwritten English and Japanese who isresponsible for providing all daily andother reporting information and com­municating with the Alaska Depart­ment of Fish aod Game representative.

5. That the AHC cootact persoocontinued on puge 6

Page 2 I Bering Sea Fisherman I April 1981 •

EDITORIAL LETTERS

Opposition emerges at fish and game hearings

ANF releases loan funds

\\ estern Alaskans will realize many benefits from last monthsactions by their representatives in reaching an agreement with theJapanese on the Trawl interception problem. In just the next fewyears this compromise could add some 40,000 king salmon annuallyto our fishermen's catches. This imprm,ed return could mean asmuch as $1,000,000 to fishermen spread from Bristol Bay to NortonSound. Thanks should go out to all parties which had a part inreaching the agreement. The unified position presented by fishing in­terests in this state and their representatives led to the Japaneseagreeing to sit down and work out a compromise. This can onlybenefit Western Alaskan fishermen both in the short and long term.

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Sincerely,Jay S. Hammond

Governor

tive remedies to resolve this unaccept­able situation.

With best wishes,

Sincerely,Don Young

Congressman for all Alaska

Cordially,Ted Stevens

United States Senator

Sincerely,Frank H. MurkowskiUnited States Senator

that the level of harvest of WesternAlaskan salmon cannot continue. Ibelieve that the Alaskan fishermanshould have substanial input into theregulating and monitoring of theJapanese high seas fishery.

Please inform me of yourthoughts on this proposal. I shall awaityour response.

course of action. As you kl1o\\, ourcongressional dclcU3tiol1 has a k~\' rolc- - -IP this is\ut.: b~l.:ause of ih internationalnatllrt..'. In addition, I hme requested ameeting with reprc\eI1lalive~ of theJapan Iishenes Agenq, their \almonmothcrship fishery and tr~l\vl fi'iher~. IWish to make it very dear to 'hese individuals precisely what our conl.:ern~

arc. This meeting \\ill occur within thenc:'\t ' ....eek.

l appreciate your apprising me ofyour concern and \\'i ... h to assure youthat bOlh I and members of this Ad­ministration will be actively pursuingthe ma\imum protection feasible forsalmon of Alaskan origin.

over the years. However, the suddenincrease in catch is completely unac­ceptable to me and to most Alaskans. Iintend to do all I can to insure that thefuture harvest of Alaskan salmon byforeign fishermen does not occur.

Please continue to keep me in­formed of your views on this and othermatters.

Dear Friends:Thank you for communicating

your concern with the high level ofsalmon harvest by the Japanese high­seas gillnet l1eel. I appreciated hearingfrom you.

As you know, the harvest was con­ducted pursuant to the InternationalNorth Pacific Fisheries Convention.This Convention has been helpful inprotecting much of Alaska's salmon

Dear Mr. Mitchell:Thank you for your telegram ex­

pressing your concern over the in­creased take of king salmon by theJapanese. I appreciate you contactingme on this maller.

I have been alerted to this situa­tion and have expressed my concern tothe Japanese Embassy. I have sug­gested that the Japanese meet with theWestern Alaskan fishermen and dis­cuss possible alternatives. It is obvious

Dear Board \1cmbcrThank }Oll for e pressing \our

conc .... rn regarding reccnt Teports ,,)1' asubstantial increase III the numbers 01Alaskan salmon taken b~ the Japanese.Pka<.,c be as)uTl'd that I .,hare your concerns in this mO"l imporlam manerand find slll..:h han cst !C\"c!s to bc unaeceptable.

Since being notified of theseevents, I have had key members of myAdministration analyzing the catchdata in an effort to determine morespecific details than were firstavailable. I have already been in con­tact with Senator Stevens and othermembers of our congressional delega­lion to express my concern and deter­mine, in concert with them, the best

Upcoming Events

To the BSFA:Your telegram concerning ex­

cessive harvest of Western Alaska kingsalmon is greatly appreciated. I shareyour concerns and am pursuing posi-

loans will be used to purchase out­boards and net;.

The loan funds were made avail­able in October, 1980 by the U.S.Department of Commerce, EconomicDevelopment Administration (EDA)through a $300,000 grant to ANF'sfisheries program. Although in Febru­ary EDA approved an additional$500,000 for the loan fund, the Reaganadministration's budget cuts pro­hibited EDA from granting the addi­tional monies. Because of the over­whelming response received to the loanprogram, ANF is seeking additionalfunds from the state legislature.

On January 22, the ANF LoanAdministration Board met to reviewapplications and loans. Seventy-twocomplete applications were evaluated,totalling $650,000 in financing needs.An additional 20 preapplications for$200,000 had been received, but hadnot been completed in time for themeeting. The loan board made its deci­sions on the basis of the applicant IS

ability to repay the loan, characterreferences, and other fund guidelines.

Although loan funds are not avail­able at this time, ANF will keep ap­plications on file for evaluation in casefurther monies are received from theState. Information on the loan fundand applications can be obtained bycontacting: Alaska Native Foundation,Fisheries Program, 411 West FourthAvenue, Anchorage, Alaska 99501.

dam and time consuming."The proposed fish and game regu­

lations would require permits and setstrict standards for road constructionand logging along salmon spawningand other streams inhabited by fish.

The regulations would be eventighter in areas designated as fish andgame refuges - such as the Susitnaand Palmer Flats refuges - or criticalhabitat areas like Kachemak Bay or themouths of major rivers that are impor­tant to fish, game or birds.

In addition, the holders of permitscontinued on page 6

Fishermen from the village ofStebbins and the Cape Romanzof areawill be fishing for herring in full forcethis season. Twelve individuals fromStebbins received financing from theAlaska Native Foundation's RevolvingLoan Fund and their village corpora­tion to purchase new skiffs, outboards,and gear. Stebbins does not have asalmon fishery at this time, and' formost of the residents, fishing has tradi­tionally been for subsistence purposes.Their entrance into the commercialherring fishery signals the beginning ofwhat the village corporation and itsshareholders hope will be an ongoingeconomic development programcentered on fishery development.Several of the fishermen plan to usetheir boats for tendering salmon as wellas herring fishing. The Stebbinsfishermen are purchasing 7.3 fiberglass"Orca" boats, which will arrive inUnalakleet the last week of April.

Fifteen other loans from ANF'sfisheries Revolving Loan Fund went toindividuals from Hooper Bay, Scam­mon Bay, Goodnews Bay, Unalakleet,and Pilot Station. Three wooden skiffswill be purchased with loan funds toparticipate in the new Cape Romanzofgill nett herring fishery which had itsfirst season in 1980. Another woodenskiff is being purchased by a Good­news Bay fisherman; and two residentsof Unalakleet are buying new boatswith their ANF loans. The remaining

A public hearing on proposed Fishand Game regulations to protect sal­mon spawning streams and critical fishand game habitats turned into a con­frontation between industry and en­vironmentalists Thursday.

Environmentalists from Anchor­age, Fairbanks and Juneau were joinedby statewide fishermen's groups andnational environmental groups in call­ing the regulations sound but too le­nient in some areas.

Loggers and miners termed theproposed regulations too harsh, whilethe oil industry termed them "redun-

BERIHG SEAFISHERMAH

Published monthly by Bering Sea Fishermen's Association. 805 West Third A....enue,Anchorage, Alaska 99501. Phone: (907) 277-5845.

EDITOR AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Henry Mitchell

BOARD OF DIRECTORS:NANA Region: Cal .... in Mota and Gideon BarrBering Straits Region: John Jemewouk and Wea....er I....anoffCalista Region: Harry Wilde, John Paul Jones and Jesse FosterBristol Bay Region: Mike Hakala, Dan Nanalook, Sr. and Pete ReamyAleut Region: ?ositions ....acant

April 22 A public hearing on Amendment #3 to the Bering Sea AleutianIslands Groundfish Fishery Management Plan. The purpose of thisamendment is to provide a long term solution to the problem of in­cidental catch of prohibited species in the Bering Sea trawlfisheries. This hearing will be held from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. inthe North Pacific Fishery Management Council conference room.

A seminar on Marketing Alaska Seafood will be held from 6:30p.m.-9:30 p.m. at the Sheraton Hotel in Anchorage. The fee is$10.00.

April 23-24 The NPFMC will meet in Anchorage at 9:00 a.m. in its conferenceroom in the Post Office Mall. The meeting will be largely devotedto actions on revisions 10 the standard operating practices and pro­cedures, plan development team meeting policy and proposedamendments to the MFCMA.

April 27-29 The University of Alaska Sea Grant Program will hold a SmokedFish Conference in Seattle at the Seattle Center. Fee will be $20.00.For more information contact: Brian Paust, U of A, Marine Ad­visory Program, 907-772-3381.

April 1981 I Bering Sea Fisherman I Page 3

Herring roe on kelp markets are very depressed, do to carryover onherring roe in Japan.

Fish sales very slow on the Seattle markets - with the new season ap­proaching and stocks at low ebb or not available. However, coho pricesare up a bit from last month.

All salmon prices are for #1, gill net, head-off, and dressed.

•

legal question surrounding \ouh"l tenceu con puhlu.· lands. In maki~ the ap­pointment. Commis')ioner Ronald O.Skoog called "elso "an obviouchoice" to head Ihe Section, which per­forms subsistclll:c-relaled research andassists the Boards of Fisheries andGamc W develop policies and regula­tions for subsistencc uscs.

Fisheries BureaucracyThe fisheries industry in Alaska employs over 40,000 people each year

and has beeen a mainstay of Alaska's economy for decades, only recentlysurrendering its pre-eminent position to the oil and gas industry but stillemploying far more Alaskans than oil and gas aClivities.

Yet, despite the fishing industry's importance to Alaska and Alaskans,our utilization of the vast fisheries resources off the coast of Alaska isminimal. The Japanese, Koreans and South American and European coun­tries outstrip us in their ability to harvest the increasingly important proteinresources of the sea.

Admittedly, Alaska's salmon industry has evolved into a strong com­petitor in the world markets, although we must diversify our marketsbeyond our dependence on the Japanese. But our initial efforts in the bot­tom fish industry are primitive compared to other nations.

Part of the reason that development of bottomiish resources is slow isthat Alaska's infrastructure to support a bottom fish mdustry is practicallynon-existent. Over the next several years we Reed tp upgrade or build dockfacilities and harbors and airports that provIde a transportation network forbOllomfish products.

There also has been an unfortunate inertia because of the fragmentednature of our fisheries bureaucracy. There is ultimately, no one entity incharge of coordinating the various programs needed to promote advances inour fishing industry.

State agencies now involved in the fishing industry include: the Depart­ment of Fish and Game; the Board of Fisheries; the Commercial FisheriesEntry Commission; the Department of Environmental Conservationthrough its regulatory functions; the Department of Labor; harbor and portdevelopment by Ihe Department of Transportation and Public Facilities;community planning by the Department of Community and Regional Af­fairs; the Departmenl of Commerce and Economic Development with ilsbOllomfish programs and domestic and international marketing efforts; theDepartment of Education and University of Alaska wilh training programs;the Department of Law; the Department of Revenue with its taxationpolicies; the Department of Public Safety through its protection programs;the Governor's Office; and the various state loan programs including theAlaska Industrial Development Authority, the Alaska RenewableResources Corporation, the Commercial Fishing and Agriculture Bank andthe Division of Business Loans.

Beyond these state agencies there are federal entilies ranging from theU.S. Department of Commerce, the Department of Interior, the StateDepartment, the Forest Service, and boards and commissions like the NorthPacific Fisheries Management Council, Ihe Pacific Fisheries ManagementCouncil and Ihe Coasl Guard. International entities also impacI our­fisheries. The International North Pacific Fisheries Commission, theU.S.-Canadian negotiating teams and the halibut commission are a fev.examples.

Obviously, there is a very fractionated fisheries effort. While Ihere areinherent dangers in creating a state "fisheries czar," it seems that we doneed an agency that is finally responsible to the governor for the fisheries ef­fort; an entity Ihat can coordinate and is, in Ihe end, finally responsible forthe efforls of all agencies Ihat now deal with fisheries relatedprograms.Thal office should ensure thaI one agency is not working at crosspurposes or paralleling another agency. This would eliminate "Iurf" battlesIhat are now all too common and preclude duplicalive efforts.

I am nOt advocating the creation of a supra tate government position- it could well be that the commissioner of the Department of Fish andGame could fulfill the position of moderator and facilitator for all fisheriesprograms or somebody within the Department of Commerce and EconomicDe,elopmenl could handle the responsibility for development programs.

I also do nOI want to leave Ihe impression that the difficulties being ex­perienced by the state's fisheries entities are unique. To some extent, we arealso witne')sing the same fractionated effort with our agricultural projects.These are growing pains - in Ihe past the state of Alaska did nOI have thefinancial resources to mount expansion programs geared to our developingrenewable resource indu:.tries.

0\\, howe\er, with our bonanza oil wealth. wr nl: l st not only beginusing our ne\\ financialle\ers to prod expansion but v.e also must expend acon iderable amount of effort to focus on program management. ThaI willhelp lead to healthy expansionism, Ihe creation of jobs and the slabili,alionof our eCOnOffi).

Dc III D. "elso, 33, has been ap­pOlO led (hlef 01 the Department',Sub I telKe Sel.:lion. J\.elso, a HarvardLa\\ School graduate. \\oil" tormer!} theSel·tion·s Rcglonal Supcni. or for In­terior \Iaska. He replaccs Tom Lon­ncr, (he SCl..:'tion's fir"t Chicf, whoresigned carly this year. Kelso is con~

sitlcred an authority on the complex

New Subsistence Chief

2.1O-2.20/lb.1.20-1.25/lb.

(very little available)no activity

none available3.00 and up

around 2.00-2.25/lb.around 1.80-1.90/lb.

BUI Sturgulewski said it is impor­tant to have law enforc~ment personnelon hand at the fishery because "youcannot get what you need out there ona moment's notice. People's lives aretoo valuable, the resource i"i 100

valuable" to waste time when a prob­lem erupls.

Painter said fishermen and pro­cessors should be allowed to engage incolleeti'e bargaining at Bristol Bay.Currently, federal anti~trust laws re­quire the t\\O marketing associationsrepresenling more Ihan half the fisher­men at Bristol Bay to set prices witheach processor separatel).

• Help local fishermen andfishermen's groups de\ clop ncwmarkets rather than continuing (Q de·pend on processors.

• Rl:\ ie\\ the performance of ..,tatcagcn\.:'ie that deal \\illl the rishcr~, andthe dislnhUlIon at ..,tate loan 10 pro­ce or. rhe panel said change houldbe tdentlfied that would make newdomestic proce"ising and marketingoperations clear!) ch~iblc for state aid.

• De\clop a list of facilitic":I need­ed to :-.upport Ihe cxpan~ion of thefishing inuustry and community needsin Bristol Ba~.

·tndlOrage FII11f''}. 4 Y 81

Both the go\ernor's la"ik fon.:e andthe Icgislati\c panel ga\e suppon to anongoing marketing study sought byfishermen. However, Painter said that\otate officials wasted so mu~h time get­ling starteo on the \otud; that it willlike" be \\orthless thi \oe3son.

rhe legislati\c panel recommend­ed that Ihe tale:

• nal}ze the ti h pro~e iogstrw,:ture at Bristol Ba~, and uggc taltcrnati\cs (Q the cxi..,ting s~ .. tcm.

Painter said the $270,UUO pro­posed for increased public safelywould be beller spent 10 uphold statefish and wildlife laws. He also urgedlawmakers to gi\c more attention tosc\cral recommendations from thelegislati\e hearing committee.

Market News

ChumRedKing 11-18 lb.

Coho 6-9 lb.Pink 2-4 lb.

PWS ribbon kelp in containerssieve kelp in containers

ARCTICSEAINC.

by Terry Reeve

Fishermen's leader seestrouble in more police

The expenditure was recommend­ed by a task force appoinled by thego\"crnor to imcsligatc reports of\iolencc slemming from a price disputelast summer bCl\\CCn fishermen andpraces Drs. The Senate Judiciar~

Bristol Ba~ Hearing Committee saidthe request should be rc\ic\\cd andfunded i r necessary.

Commissioner of Public SafetyWilliam Nix said the money would bespent to add 15 officers 10 the 35 ,ta­tioned at Bri"itol Bay last summer. tocharter fi\c boals for suneillancc, andfor added helicopler palrol lime.

Sen. Adi" SlUrgulewski, R-An­choragc. a member of hearing commit~

tee, said public "iatety olficers musts[a~ OUI 01 prke I1cgouation • aolla\OId the appcaraol,.'e of taking sides

Scn, Terr~ Stirn on, D-1'\nl.:'hor­age, aid hc h conl.:'crncd that the "ral­lie and danle kind of llash" that theLegislature is gl\ing problt:ms at

Bristol Bay and "inneascd law en­forccmcnt might precipitate violence."He suggested that action (Q boost la\\­enforcement be dda)cd until needed.

JUNEAU (AP) - Beefing up thelaw enforcement effort al the BristolBay fishery this summer could triggerrather than curb a threat of \0 iolence,the executive director of the largestfishermen's group in the state saidTuesday.

Rodger Painter lold Ihe SenaleStale Affairs Commillee that a bill(SB323) thaI would dump $270,000more into public safety at Ihe peak ofthe Bristol Bay salmon Tun this sca,on"would bring the potcntial of a strike alittle closer. It would IOllame the situa­tion, and fishermen would be brandedas criminah."

Sen. Dick Elia,on, R-Sitka, said amore se~ure en\' ironmeOl is needed atBri\tol Bay to protel,. t Hthe rightli ofthhermen to pur\ue their li\elihood ."\tan} Southeasl \Iaska fishermcn\\.'orked during the price dispute, and\vere threatened.•

Page 4 I Bering Sea Fishermen I April 1981

State takes strong position on interception

Joint Statement

-

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Ar>ocoo....

MARINEHEADQUARTERS

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All Items at competitive pnces

Open 8 - S-Monuy - Frid.ayWuhlnston" Aluk.

De..ter inqUiries welcomePhone (206) 293-4606

9094thSl_A_os, WA 98221

«ason. We appreciate the offer ad­,anced b} the Japanese and belie.. thatthe quota system and the number sug­gested have merit. \\'e do. however, ha\e..erious misgivings about the effective­ness of a proposed plan that does notallow catch verification on the fishinggrounds or severely restrict effort inareas of high Chinook abundance.

We believe that we should encour­age Japanese adherence to the quotaconcept, acceptance of maximum levelsof observer coverage possible, and vol­untary minimization of effort in the cen­tral Bering Sea. We feel that adequatemonitoring of harvest in our zone is es­sential. We would also stress the need forthe Japanese government observeragecoverage (if U.S. observers are not a pos­sibility) on catcher boats outside ourzone and detailed verification reports forexamination. We feel that all avenues toassess actual Chinook catch per uniteffort should be explored including theuse of research vessels if feasible. Fur­ther discussion of needed managementmeasures should be based on our assess­ment of the effectiveness of this season'seffort and the credibility of the harvestdata.

Thank you for your assistance inthese matters. I would like my office towork closely with you in developing anapproach to seeking a reduction in thecurrent level of Chinook interception.We know that the Japanese delegationhas been in Washington talking to theState Department, and believe it wouldbe helpful if you could advance ourviews to the State Department and theDepartment of Commerce.

I want to emphasize that my officeand most Alaskans believe that the rene­gotiated International North PacificFisheries Convention is an important ele­ment in the rational conservation of oursalmon stocks on the high seas. and wedo not wish to see it significantly alteredor terminated. The Japanese have statedthat they would prefer to avoid the inci­dental harvest of Chinook becausc thecatch of this species i not necessarv totheir fish harvest. Therefore, the restrk­tions we propose should not be undulydi'\ruptive to their abilit) to pursue theirlegal fishing of Asian almon.

Wyman's \\lboIesaIe!\iarine & Supph' <A,is dedicated to sening

the commercia.I rJShinR fleetsin Washinxtoo and Alaska.

Our sen.iceis what made our company~-

The North Pacific Fishery Manage­ment Council is presently engaged inthe public review process of an amend­ment to the Bering SealAleutian Islandground fish FMP. It is the purpose ofthat amendment to obtain a long termsolution to the incidental catch of allprohibited species during the conductof the ground fish fishery.

The amendment proposed here forthe PMP is the first step towards thesolution to be identified by the Councilin the development of the amendmentto the FMP. It is agreed that this PMPamendment is an initial step in a multi­year program to substantially reducethe incidental catch of chinook salmonbelow recent levels. It is further agreedthat the incidental catch should bereduced in annual increments subjectto reasonable adjustments for variablefactors. The schedule for these annualreductions and the final solution willbe the subject of the Council's FMPamendment. It is anticipated that theFMP amendment will be in place onJanuary I, 1982. The concept em­bodied herein is intended to be theframework for the reduction of the in­cidental catch of Western Alaskanchinook salmon by all components ofthe Japanese trawl fishery.

incidental to both their mothership and terceptions are relatively low. However,trawl fishery harvests and that the} are to guarantee that this interception levelcaught in the process of getting their remains relatively low, and given the un-quotas of other species. They proposed certainties in enforcing the limit, we be-the following means of trying to allevi- Iieve it desirable that the area east of 180"ate the problem: , in the central Bering Sea be closed to

fishing. We would also propose that ef·fort west of 180" be limited to the levelagreed to in the original INPFC treaty of22 neet days to prevent redistribution ofeffort from the closed area. The inter­ception of Chinook in the area west of180" also is fairly high.

In regard to the trawl fishery, a 20percent reduction from the peak level ofinterception in 1980 is not acceptable.Discussions are still ongoing with theJapanese regarding these matters, andprobably will come to some conclusionat the current meeting of the North Pa­cific Fishery Management Council (inlate March). We believe that a significantreduction below the level of the 1980 har­vest should be achieved in the first year,to be followed by some staged reductioneach year until the trawl interception hasreached an acceptable level of one-thirdor less of what it is now.

In summary I we recommend thefollowing restrictions as the most desir­able option:

I. Accept the 110,000 limitation onthe total Chinook catch in mothershipfishery;

2. Require observers on mot her­ships operating both in and out of theFCZ, plus negotiated coverage forcatcher boats (tentatively 10 percent, or17 observers); the Japanese should fundthese costs;

3. Close the area east of 180" in thecentral Bering Sea to fishing by theJapanese; a high percentage of estilllatedinterceptions occur in this area;

4. Limit effort west of 180" in thecentral Bering Sea to 22 neet days to pre­vent effort redistribution from a closedarea into another area of relatively highChinook abundance;

5. Reduce trawl Chinook incidentalharvest significantly below that of 1979­1980 by imposing a quota beyond whichfishery would close; reduce catch bystages over a period of years until itreaches an acceptable level, possibly one­third of 1979-80.

We recognize that all of these man­agement measures for the mothershipfishery may be difficult to get concur­rence on and implement for the 198 I

I. Limit their mothership fisheryto a total Chinook harvest of 110,000fish average per year, with an addi­tional 15 percent allowance for prob­lems with their fishing operation; oncethat total was reached, the mothershipoperation would be closed down.

2. Limit their trawl harvest ofChinook to 90 percent of last year's(1980) level, at which time some nego­tiated time and area closure wouldoccur.

My office and the National Ma­rine Fisheries Service seem to havesimilar concerns about the effect andpracticality of these suggested mea­sures by the Japanese. The 110,000level for the mothership fishery is prob­ably an acceptable quota. The catchshould be restricted to an average of110,000 plus 10 percent. We have ob­servers on their four motherships whilethey fish inside our zone, but we do nothave observers on the motherships out·side our zone. Additionally, there are160 catcher boats fishing independentlyand returning their catch to the mother­ships daily.

It is not clear to us how sortingand discarding of Chinook on the cat­cher boats would be prevented. TheJapanese say that their system of patrolboats would prevent that, but, based onour own experience in monitoring fish­eries, we have doubts that would be ef­fective on any broad scale. In order tomonitor the Chinook catch adequately,USA observers are needed on mother­ships fishing outside our zone and on arepresentative sample of the catcherboats, both inside and outside our zone.The National !I>Iarine Fisheries Service isnot funded to field such an effort, sowe believe the Japanese governmentshould pay for this coverage.

It appears to our scientists that the110,000 enforced limit would result inprobably a 40,000 to 70,000 annual west­ern Alaskan Chinook interception, be­cause a large part of that limit wouldprobably have to be expended within ourzone in taking their USSR quota in anarea where western Alaska Chinook in-

SealAleutian Island ground fish PMPbe amended to impose a limit of 65,000chinook salmon (60,000 WesternAlaskan Chinook salmon) on the Ber­ing SealAleutian Island trawl fisheryduring 1981. The proposed amendmentshall provide that this limitation will bedetermined separately for each nationin proportion to that nation's BeringSealAleutian Island ground fish alloca­tion. Thus, if Japan's BeringSealAleutian Island ground fish alloca­tion is X'I. of the total BeringSeal Aleutian Island ground fishTALFF, Japan's incidental chinookcatch limil will be determined bymultiplying 65,000 by xlii•. The pro­posed amendment shall provide that ifany nation's incidental trawl catch ofchinook salmon reaches its nationallimit, then all of that nation's trawlvessels shall be prohibited from trawl­ing in INPFC Area 11 and small statis­tical blocks I and 2 within I PFC AreaI for so much of the months ofJanuary, February, March, October.November I and December which re­main in that fishing year.

This proposed PMP amendment isintended as an interim measure toreduce the incidental catch of chinooksalmon in the Bering Sea trawl fishery.

On March 24, /98/, Gov. Jay Ham­mond sent this letler to Senator Stevens,Senator Murkowski and CongressmanYoung. Other COpies were sent to: Ron­ald Skoog, commissioner of Fish andGame; Steve Pennoyer, director ofCom­mereU/I FISheries; Jim Branson, NPFMC;and Nick S.abo, Board ofFisheries.

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Last month my office alerted you tothe ongoing problem of high seas inter­ception by the Japanese of western Alas­kan Chinook salmon, and the urgency indealing with this problem, which hasbeen accelerated by the very substantialcatch of this species by the Japanese highseas salmon mothership fishery in 1980.Additional background information isnow available, which has resulted in aState position on these matters in which Iseek your concurrence and assistance.

The final Japanese high seas salmonmothership catch of Chinook in 1980was approximately 704,000 fish, thehighest since the inception of the mother­ship fishery in 1952. Unreported deadloss from the gill nets may amount toas much as one-third of the total catch.The National Marine Fisheries Serviceestimates that some 388,000 of thesewere destined for western Alaska, thesecond highest estimated level of incep­tion in the history of the fIShery. In theopinion of our State scientists, the esti­mate of interception may be conserva­tive. Be that as it may, the number isunacceptably high and, in fact, is higherthan the average inshore harvest in west­ern Alaska by both our commercial andsubsistence fishermen. These numbers,in comparison with previous years'catches and inshore harvests, are shownin Table I of the enclosures, which areintended to provide you with the neces­sary background on this fishery prob­lem.

The Japanese have recognized theconcern of the State of Alaska, Boardof Fishenes, and North Pacific FisheryManagement Council. This concern ledthem to travel to Juneau with a dele­gation of industry and government rep­resentatives on March 10. While here,they talked to the National MarineFisheries Service, met with me and myadvisors from the Department of Fishand Game in my office, and with rep­resentatives of the fishermen and legis­lators from western Alaska. Theypointed out that Chinook salmon were

Japan Deep Sea Trawlers Associa­tion, Hokuten Trawlers Associationand the Cities of Alakanuk, At­mauthuak, Chevak, Eek, Emmonak,Goodnews Bay, Hooper Bay,Kasigluk, Mekoryuk, MountainVillage, unapiptchuk, Platinum,Quinhagak, Scammon Bay, SheldonPoint, Sl. Mary's, and Tuluksak; In­dian Reorgainzation Act Councils ofAkaiachak, Kwigillingok TraditionalCouncils of Eek, Kipnuk, Kongiganak,Tuntutuliak; Nunam Kitlutsisti, Inc.,and Association of Village CouncilPresidents, Inc.

The above parties have agreed tojointly request that the Bering

Lower Yukon/KuskokwimAquaculture Association

April 1981 I Bering Sea Fisherman I Page 5

Politics in salmon fisheries:of the Sea

COMPLETE SAILINCi SCHEDULE FOR 1981

NORTHLAND SERVICES INC.MARINE TRANSPORTATION

Early sailing SchedUle to Bristol BayMarch 28th and May 9th, 1981

Lions, it beL:omes a world bod) whetherthc United States signs it or not. UnderArticle 66, it does give recognition tostate of origin of highly migratory fishand crab resources, and also the rightof that state to manage it in an eco­nomic lone. Written into the 200-milebill (94-265), it states that after theUnited States signs the LOS treaty, wewill then turn over the offshoreresources to this international body. Inthe case of the salmon treaty, thel.N.P.F.C. (United States, Canadaand Japan) under Article 3B and Arti­cle 4, uses the words "the establish­ment of an International organizationwith broader membership dealing withthe species of the conventional areaother than anadromous species,"which will result in termination of thenon-anadromous involvement of thecommiSSion.

Tne United States has 80 interna­tional fishing treaties. They all useabout the same wording, and thesetreaties as rule, die the day that theUnited Stales signs the Law of the Seaand the jurisdiction in transferred. Allof the United States and Canada fishtreaties use the same wording. It couldbe possible that Canada and Japan willsign the Law of the Sea treaty. TheUnited States could end up having the200 mile limit and not have a salmonagreement. II is too early to tell. TheNew York meeting will go on to thesummer of 1981. Alaska's position inthe negotiation has followed formerAmbassador Richardson's approach.What Alaska's position under Presi­dent Reagan's current policy isunknown. Alaska does have a definitemterest as the control of the ShumiganIslands - Kodiak shelf, the GoldenTriangle-Unimak Pass, Ungashik,Priboloff Islands - the Teller-CapePrince of Wales offshore areas are atstake in this worldwide L:hc s game.People seem to believe that under seasmining consists of dragging nodulesoff the bottom of the ocean. The thingthat they do not understand is that intoday's high priced world mineralmarkets, areas of Alaska that havebeen core drilled offshore are econom­ically feasible to mine to a depth of 12to 18 feet in certain areas. How willthis offshore mining and the results ofeffecting the fisheries impact Alaska,both short term and long term? This isyour fisheries - this is your children'sfisheries - you are going to have totake an interest lO protect your ownlivelihood.

b) John Durkin\\ashinglOn State's representati\c

Joel Pritchard - 1974 regarding law ofthe sea: "Lets face reality, the money is10 the minerals and not the fish."

The idea of law of the sea, interna­tional management of the high seas hasbeen proposed by the United Nationsin 1947, Resources For The FutureGroup (Ford Foundation), 1952,Brookings Institute, 1962, the U.S.Congressional Secretive Stratton Com­mission 1966-69, and the Tri-LateralCommission 1974-1981. lis concepthas been discussed internationally sinceWorld War II. In 1974 the first directlaw of the sea meeting consisted of therepresentatives of 150 countries. Al thethird United Nations conference onlaw of the sea in Geneva, SwitzerlandJuly 28 to Aug. 29, 1980, a Treatyformed, known as the Draft Conven­tion of Law of the Sea. II came as aresult of that meeting. The text hasbeen printed into a book form that has126 pages, close typed, with 320 laws inaddition to 54 pages, elose typed, in anannex section, for a total of 180 pages.It is a massive document and toolengthy to explain, but 1 will try tocover the highlights.

The United States positionthrough the ixon, Ford and CarterAdministrations was to go along withthe concept of Law of the Sea. But bythe printing of the September 1980document, it became clearer that theDirectorship Council (34 seats) wouldbe controlled by the Third World (de­veloping countries) and Russia (3votes), where the United States wouldhave no vote and be competing againstthe developed nations for any possiblevote. U.S. technology would be gIvenaway with no return to the UnitedStates, for the cost invoh cd in develop­ing offshore technology. The currentLaw of the Sca meeting in . ew York,tarted 10 \Iarch 1981. Two days priorPresident Reagan replaced the U.S.

egOliator and reversed the U.S. posi­tion, as it would not be in the best na·[ional interest since the technology ofthe United States would be turned overto an international body over which ithad no voice nor control.

This world body would create anew style OPEC (similar to the Arabstyle control of world oil prices).

Controlling mineral resources, itwould control taxes, production, de­velopment, and marketing of theUnited States mineral resources inUnited States waters. Once again,when this treaty is signed by 60 na-

The LYKAA will be sending bro­chures and questionnaires to Regionalresidents which will help explain inmore detail the what, whys, when, andwhat-ifs of the Lower Yukon Kusko­kwim Aquaculture Association. In themeantime LYKAA would like to askthat anyone who depends upon oursalmon resource or is interested in itsfuture, start reading up on aquacul­ture. Better yet get in touch withLYKAA at P.O. Bo\ 634, Bethel,Alaska 99559 or call 543-3492 and theywill send you information and answerquestions. Salmon enhancement is asuccessful means by which to improveIhis region's salmon populations andharvests.

er) in Bethel The fr) are fromKanektok River ,tock where 130.000eggs were taken laS! September. Thehatcher) incubates the eggs at higherthan normal waler temperatures tospeed up their devclopment in order tocoincide with the schools' springsemester. This "advanced" growth in­cubation and rearing by temperaturecontrol and or recirculation will bevery valuable in this regions salmonproduction strategy. The over winterrearing of King, Coho, and Sockeyejuvenile salmon is a major limiting fac­tOr in cost/benefit efficiency of ahatchery, especially those in harshclimates. Advanced growth salmonculture in this region could substantial­ly improve cost/benefit success by vir­tually eliminating the need for overwinter rearing of juvenile King, Cohoand Sockeye salmon which requirefresh water rearing for one or twoyears as opposed to Pink and Chumsalmon which immediately migrate tosea after emerging.

The L.:>Wer 'ukon Kuskokv\lm·\quaculture Ac,soclallon W3\ recogniled by CommISsioner Skoog of theAlaska Department of Fish and Gameas a qualified Regional AquacultureAssociation (Alaska Statutes16.10.375-470) on March 24, 1980.

The LYKAA has three major ob­jectives which are:

I. To responsibly develop, main­tain. and enhance salmon populationswithin our region in such a way as toprovide optimal benefits to the varioususer groups while insuring the produc­tive future of the valuable salmonresource.

2. To produce cooperatively withthe Alaska Department of Fish andGame, a Comprehensive Salmon Planfor the LYKAA region which inte­grates and assembles all relevant infor­mation regarding the development andprotection of OUT salmon resource forspecific long range periods of time andstrategically presents the informationin a manner which allows for optimalstages of development, short and longterm interpretation. and continual pro­gression of the plan.

3. To encourage and cooperatewith any fisheries educational pro­grams which include the salmonresource.

The LYKAA is expecting to havethe first Regional Planning teammeeting in April. II will be held inBethel during a full board meeting.This meeting will deal mainly with theinitial outlining of thc Lower YukonKuskokwim Comprehensive SalmonPlan, developmental strategies, and~pccial considerations.

The Coho fry are emerging at theI YKAA Scientific/Educational hatch

Naknek March 28, May 9, July 1, Aug. 22

Dillingham May 9, July 1, Aug. 22

Bethel May 9, June 13, JUly 1, AUg. 22

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May 9, June 13, Aug. 8, Aug_ 22

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Bering Sea Fisherman

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Page 6/ Bering Sea Fisherman / April 1981

fish and game hearings ~co::::n.:.:t.::;in:::u:::ed::..,fi!.:.r.::o:.::mL'p::a:;,.ge~2 _

Summary

Council's March Meeting

Fishermen call for early talks

would be held accountable if damagewere done to fish and wildlife habitat.

The Sealaska Corporation of Ju­neau, the state's largest native corpora­tion in terms of membership, chal­lenged the authority of the Departmentof Fish and Game to manage streamsand wildlife habitats on the corpora­tion's timber-rich lands.

Any restrictions on the land, theysaid, should be worked out by otherstate agencies - the Department ofEnvironmental Conservation and theDepartment of Natural Resources.

Sealaska owns large tracts ofstream-laced timberlands in Southeast­ern.

Although the preferred method oflogging to c1earcut, the regulationswould prevent c1earcutting next tostreams and would force loggers tocompensate for the erosion of topsoilinto spawning areas. Loggers contendthat buffer zones along streams wouldmake logging more expensive.

Sealaska was joined in protestingthe regulations by the Concor ForestResources Company, a firm owned bya consortium of Southeastern nativecorporations.

Julius Brecht, a lawyer representing the firm, said the regulationswould be burdensome and complicatedfor loggers and landowners.

He was challenged by FisheriesBoard chairman Nick Szabo of Kodi­ak. "I wish I had brought some of the

Japanese and Western AlaskansNegotiate Agreement to Limit

Chinook Interceptions

The Council was pleased to accepta negotiated agreement between thenatives of western Alaska and theHokuten and Japan Deep Sea TrawlersAssociations which will limit chinookinterceptions in the Bering Sea foreigntrawl fishery. Terms of the agreementcall for an amendment to the BeringSea Preliminary Management Plan toimpose on the 1981 foreign trawl fish­ery an interception limit of 65,000chinook salmon (60,000 of westernAlaska origin). Limits imposed onforeign nations with ground fish alloca­tions for the Bering Sea will be propor­tionate to each nation's percentage ofthe tolal Bering Sea ground fishTALFF. If any nation's incidentaltrawl catch of chinook salmon reachesits national limit, all of that nation'strawl vessels will be prohibited fromtrawling in INPFC Area 11 and twosub-areas of INPFC Area I for the re­mainder of that fishing year.

This agreement represents a giantstep toward solving the incidental catchproblem. Amendment #3 to the Coun­cil's Bering Sea/Aleutian IslandsGroundfish FMP, currently underpublie resiew, addresses long termsolutions to the incidental catch of allprohibited species in the ground fishfishery.

Board/Couocil/Alaska LegislatureResolution Slresses Need to Reduce

Offshore Chinook Inlerceptions

The Alaska Board of Fisheries,North Pacific Council, and AlaskaState Legislature joined together in aresolution urging the Council, State ofAlaska, and INPFC to take appro­priate measure to reduce Alaskanchinook salmon interceptions h) allforeign offshore fisheries. TheJapanese go\oernment and fishing in­dustry will be asked to developmethods and apply appropriatemodifications to their high seas salmonfishing operations which will helpreduce their trawl interceptions. TheCouncil was urged to support research

pictures I took of the areas you werelogging," Szabo said. "I think peoplewould have a different opinion onwhether fish and wildlife resourceswere being protected but if the land­owners are satisfied, I guess that'sokay. "

Fishermen, represented bySoutheast Trollers and the UnitedFishermen of Alaska, want bufferzones along streams doubled in size toprevent the state's largest renewableresource industry from being wiped out"for the convenience of a few minersand the logging industry."

uWhen the oil is gone, when thewood is cut and when the mines are(depleted), the fishing industry will beour bread and butter," said Jim Strat­ton of the'Southeast Alaska Conserva­tion Society. "We'd better take stepsto protect it now."

Mel Munson, of the Bering SeaFishermen's Association I said thatwithout strict protection for streams,Alaska's fishing industry will end uplike those in California, Washingtonand Oregon.

Dave Cline, of the Audubon Soci­ety, lauded the regulations but asked­that the stream buffer zones be dou­bled in size.

Tom Fink, of Atlantic Richfield,said on behalf of the Alaska Oil andGas Association, that the regulationsand permit requirements were Uregula­tory escalation" that add another layer

to determine continent of origin ofchinooks taken in the Japanese land­based drift net fishery, Gulf of Alaskaand Bering Sea foreign trawl fisheries,and the Japanese high seas mothershipfishery.

Herring FMP Updale

After clarifieation of the formulafor calculating Allowable IneidentalCatch (AIC) and minor editorialchanges, the Herring FMP, Final En­vironment Impact Statement. andDraft Regulatory Impact Re,iew willgo to the Secretary of Commerce as theCouncil's recommendation for man­agement of the herring fishery.

The AIC and Herring SavingsArea portions of the FMP directly af­fect the Bering Sea ground fish fishery.Upon recommendation of NOAAgeneral counsel the Council agreed toinclude these as a de facto amendmentto the Bering Sea Groundfish FMP.

Salmon Research Requeslfor Proposals

The Council approved a requestfor proposals for a study to determinestock origins of chinook salmon in­cidentally caught in foreign trawls inthe eastern Bering Sea and Gulf ofAlaska FCZ. The RFP will comple­ment other research efforts currentlyunder consideration or unden\ay bySea Grant and the University of Wash­ington and "ill prO\ide imprO\ed dataupon "hich to ba~c future regulatorydecisions. The RFP "ill be released forbid shortly.

Public Hearing Scheduled forAmendmenl #3 to the Bering Sea

Groundfish FMP

Public hearing, will be held inSeattle on April 18 and in Anchorageon April 22 on proposed Amendment#3 to the Bering Sea Aleutian I landsGroundfish F:>.lP. The Seattle hearingwill begin at 9 a.m, at the Northwestand Alaska Fisheries Center Auditor­ium. The Anchorage hearing will beginat I p.m. in the Council headquartersConference Room. Writlen commcntson the proposed amendment will be ac­cepted until 5 p.m., May I, 1981.

of government to the already com­plieated process of exploring for oiland gas in Alaska.

One top oil company official, whoasked not to be identified, said laterthat major industry probably could livewith the regulations but the effects onsmall miners and loggers could be dis­astrous.

"The big companies can hire law­yers and environmental specialists andengineers," he said. "But what aboutthe lillie guy?"

Under the proposed regulations,permits would be required for log drag­ging, operating large-wheeled vehicles,construction, disposal or mining in asalmon stream. Also, blasting within

JUNEAU (AP) - The director ofthe state's largest fishermen'sorganization criticized state officialsMonday for doing lillie to prevent an­other strike by fishermen this summerat Bristol Bay.

Rodger Painter, executive directorof United Fishermen of Alaska, toldadministrators and lawmakers they arewasting time that could be used toresolve long-standing differences be­tween fishermen and processors atBristol Bay.

Painter outlined possible solutionsto the dispute at a hearing Mondaybefore a joint House-Senate panel anda Cabinet-level task foree investigatingconnicts at Bristol Bay.

He urged state officials to spurnegotiations between fishermen andpackers so a price for salmon is setbefore fish runs start early this sum­mer.

The key to price talks is adequateinformation, Painter said. He askedfor an immediate state-funded study ofsalmon markets to give fishermen andprocessors "something to talk about."

Sen. Arliss Sturgulewski, R-An­chorage, who heads the panel, agreedthat the state "is under a time crunch"if a marketing study is to be under-

Injunction continued [rom page /

shall provide to the DepartmentObserver by 8:00 o'c1oek a.m. daily inthe summary of the previous day's ac­tivities whieh shall include the follow­ing information:

(a) The date of landing of thefish,

(b) The type of gear with "hichthe fish were taken,

(c) The nearest headland orba~ or statistical area in \\ hich thefi"lh \\-ere taken.

(d) The pounds of herring,(e) The name of the official of

the AHC who records the informa­tion.

6. That the AHC shall complywith all reporting requirements or 5A.A.C 39.130, and, as agent for theState, shall maintain the confidentiali­ty of individual fi h tickets as requiredby AS. 16.05.815(,,).

7. That the \HC shall prO\ide atalltimcs radio communications on frc:­quendes designated by the AlaskaDepartment of Fish and Game for theuse of the Department Observer andmaintain a radio schedule with theAlaska Department of Fish and Game.

8. Upon termination of pt:rmiucdoperations and before leaving state"ater , the AHC shall submit to theDepartment Ob~ef\er a complete pro­CC"lsor report indicating:

(a) Type of processing,(b) ~umber and tonnage of

fi,h processed,(,,) Destination of fish,(d) Final disposition of pro­

dlH':t.

(e) Ex-\essel price,

one-eighth of a mile from a streamwould be forbidden without a permit.Any land clearing or filling "ithin 50feet of most salmon streams or theremoval of 500 gallons a day of "aterwould also require a permit.

In southcentral Alaska, permitswould be required for any filling orclearing within 25 feet of Little Camp­bell Creek, Eagle River, MatanuskaRiver t Susitna River. Knik River,Skwentna River, Yentna River, CopperRiver, Kahiltna River and BelugaRiver. The 50 foot requirements wouldapply to all other identified salmonstreams such as Campbell Creek, theKenai River and many of its tribu­taries, Peters Creek, Wasilla Creek andFish Creek.

taken.Last year, fishermen and packers

could not settle on a price for salmon.A strike resulted, and instead of thepredicted largest salmon catches inhistory, millions of harvestable salmoneseaped upstream. The estimated losswas $46 million to $65 million to fish­ermen alone.

Jim Beaton, a fisherman for 23years and member of the slate Board ofFisheries, said in addition to undertak­ing a marketing study, the state shouldhelp fishermen develop alternativemarkets, including their own cooper­atives.

Alternative markets could bedeveloped through investments andloans by the Alaska Renewable Re­sources Corp. and the CommercialFishing and Agriculture Bank, Sturgu­lewski sid. Both are state-funded agen­cies.

Miteh Kink, general manager ofthe Alaska Independent Fishermen'sMarketing Association, said the stateshould require binding arbitration be­tween fishermen and processors. Cur­rently, the state can enter price disputesonly if asked, and even then the state issimply a referee.

- Anchoraf{e Times, 3 /7 8/

and Olher information requested by theCommi~sioner or his local represen­tative, and the AHC vessels shall notdepart Alaska waters until such reportis approved by Ihe Department Ob­sen'er. However, with regard to thc c.\­vessel price this information shall besubmitted within sixty (60) days ofdelhcry of the product to its destina­tion. All fish tickets must be completedand pro\ ided to the Department Ob­"lcner or other rcpre...entati\c 01 theAlaska Department of Fish and Gamebefore the \essel depart Alaska\\iater ....

9. That the AHC shall not wasteherring.

10. fhat the AHC shall comply"ith all federal, state. and local la"sand regulations and ordinance.

I. That the AHC shall obtain per~

miSSion from the Commis ioner. or hiSlocal representative. prior to rno\ mg its\ocs els bet\\ccn authoriled area 01operation. Eal'h \.cs"el shall notif~ IhcAla,ka Department of Fish and Gameprior to a change of location of saidvessel. by radio report to the localrcpresentati\e of the Commissioner.

12. Petitioners shall post a bondIn the sum of TEN THOUSAI\ DDOl LARS (510,000.00) ca h or ,or~

porate uret~ bond to insure the pa}­meDt of an~ (O"t or other apparent ex­penditures in the e\ent that thiPreliminary Injunction shall be un­timel) or impro\idently granted.

15. ThiS Preliminary Injunction isGRANTED and ORDEREDENTERED Ihis first day of April,1981, at 12:00 o'dock p.m.

April 1981 I Bering Sea Fisherman I Page 7

Herring roe marketing channels in Japan

.f'"

National advertising for Alaskaseafood has begun under the directionof the Alaska Seafood Marketing In­stitute (ASMI). Progress on campaignsfor salmon, crab, halibut and bottom­fish was reviewed at a board of direc­tors meeting on February 26 in Juneau.

Results are coming from currentradio advertising in 21 major cities inAmerica. Thi~ campaign is aimed atmoving inventories of canned salmonprior to the coming season.

The crab campaign is currentlyfocused on getting Alaska crab back onthe nation's menus, and new advertis­ing is scheduled for trade journalpublications later this spring. Atten­tion will be directed to the advantagesof crab over lobster, its main com­petitor.

Making Americans aware thatAlaska is a producer of high qualitybottomfish is the effort of another$20,000 project of ASMI.

ASMI is a joint effort of the stateof Alaska and the industry. In order tosecure long-term funding, the governorhas introduced a bill that would pro­vide such funding from the state andthe industry.

The board supported the govern­or's bill, but wants to insure that ASMIremains essentially an industry­directed effort and not another stateagency,

Strategic planning is the focus of a$50,000 contract with the nation'slarge~t food service advertising agency,\-landabach and Simms.

Preliminary results from theirreport indicate that most Americansare not aware that most of the world'ssalmon comes from Alaska, or thatAlaska iv a major producer of anyseafood.

The marketing plan, which is to becompleted in April, will provide a basisfor future efforts of ASMI.

European marketing of Alaska'sfish is another of ASMI's efforts atbroadening the market base. Theboard approved reservation of a boothat Europe's largest food trade show,ANUGA, scheduled for October inCologne, Germany.

- Ketchikan Daily News, 3/14/81

dicting prices for the next year.18. Of particular interest are the

deviations from the price trend ob­served for Kazunaka, renecting the ab­normally high prices in 1971 and 1979and the subsequent two or three yearsof depressed prices. This patternbecomes especially important inpredicting prices in 1981 and possibly1982.

Seafood advertising

examining the product. It is at thispoint that the importer actually knowswhat price he will receive for his pro­duct.

13. All imports of fish and fishproducts for human consumption aresubject to inspection and certificationby officials of the Ministry of Healthand Welfare for freshness, wholesome­ness of the product, the presence andamounts of additives, and compliancewith labeling requirements. Althoughroe and fat herring salted or frozen inthe round do not normally containfood additives, hydrogen peroxide isused as a bleach in the processing ofroe into A:a:.unoko, in order to removeall vestiges of blood and other dis­coloration and to improve the color ofthe product.

In October 1980, the !\linistry ofHealth and Welfare issued an orderbanning the use of hydrogen peroxidein the processing of Kazunaka and theJapanese Kazullaka processors and thefishing industry as a whole is now at­tempting to obtain some modificationof the regulation since no suitablesubstitute is available.

13. The costs related to the im­port of frozen herring (i.e., duty,handling, bank charges, technicians,etc.) total about one-third the CIFvalue of the herring.(i.e., if the CIFvalue of the herring is 300 yen/kg, therelated import costs would be 90 to 110yen/kg).

14. In 1980, Canada and theUnited States accounted for over 96percent of the total Japanese importsof frozen herring (both fat and roe her­ring).

15. Over the nine year period(1970 to 1978), the Japanese produc­tion of frozen herring on-board vesselsor at shore plants has decreased rapidly(renecting the decreasing off-shore andhigh seas supply), the production ofHi~aki hav remained stable and theproduction of A.·a~llnoko has aboUltripled

16. At the prevent lime, the her­ring landed by the Japanese fishing\ esscb arc di~tributed in the follo\\ing\\a)'; 28 percent shipped fresh to out­side markeh, 3 percent arc retained inthe local markets, 25 percent are frozenat the port of landing, 39 percent godirectly to processor~ and 6 percent toother gorups.

17. The pattern of the Tokyowholesale market price for herring andherring products show the character­istic geometric increase from year toyear observed for seafood prices ingeneral and for a number of specificproducts, probably caused by the com­pounding effect of the rising costs ofliving (innation). This observed rela­tion has been used as a basis for pre-

Samples of Kazunoko and Migaki (dried herring carcasses) are packaged for purchase by retailers at the Tokyo WholesaleMarket,

year to February or March of the nextyear and in this case, the plotting yearused was taken as the end of the fishingyear).

9. The initial processing of roeherring is Alaska is usually by one oftwo methods: Salting or freezing.

The salting method is the least ex­pensive of the two methods but there isdanger of damage to the roe from in­sufficient salt penetration and limiteduse of the carcasses after strippingbecause of the high salt content. Theprocessing cost, depending upon theavailable eqUipment, totes, etc., usual­ly ranges from $400 to $600 per shortton.

The freezing method is gaining inpopularity and now most of the roeherring taken in Alaska is being frozenin the round for export and finishing inJapan, Korea and China. The averagecost for processing by the freezingmethod is estimated by one companyto be $500-750 per short ton.

Neither of these estimates of pro­cessing costs includes the cost of thetender(s).

Most of the roe herring taken inBritish Columbia are stripped of theroe at local processing plants for ex­port to Japan. The carcasses are pro­cessed into meal.

10. The major export cost of herr­ing and herring products is the oceanfreight between Alaska or west coastports and Japan, ranging from about$0.08 to 0.15 per pound (plus insuranceand other incidental charges) andvaries considerably, depending onwhether thc vcssel is a "tramper" orcommercial line, location and othercargo available for shipment from thesame general area

II. The import of herring intoJapan IS under the control of the:vtinistry of Trade and Industry("IITI). Import quotas are establishedt\\ice a year and di\ ided between fouruser groups: In 1980, about 80 percentof the total quota IS allocated to theHokkaido Fisheriev Cooperatives(Da~yorel1), II percent to authorizedfIshing and trading companies, and 9percent to fish and special food pro­cessors. Since 1977, the total annualquotas have varied from 33,000 mt to58,000 mt and there is no evidence thatthe actual imports of herring have evenapproached these amounts.

12. The herring imported underthe Dogyaretl allocation by the variouscompanies must be delivered shortlyafter arrival in Japan to storagewarehouses in Kushiro, Sapporo orRumoi (all in Hokkaido). The pricethat Dagyaretl will then pay the im­porter is determined by three peoplerepresenting Dagyarel1, the Hokkaidoprocessors and the importer, and after

A ... hen 1I11:! tls,",c men gear up fora C't c roc hernll} sea on they He'-1,0 , f"l. ...u\\ Ith Ie \ rnl.... \1 uch habl,,:~n "It '" out the easo~ c"IIlJthe u\\ n.. C pi H;e herc w ( r"iPCC t n bv me bL:\er In 19'9~

ther \10 ",on umt,:f e I l..:nl.t,; to '~h

I\.dlunoko pn heft,; \Iod I hI.:hydrvgen peroxide l:an er scare' dndno\\. a \\C C leT he 19 I ca'501. t zhlO\cntonc 0 old pr Ju~ts rCIl': ..lInIn Japa.

In an atlunpl to look more deep!'\­at III t h(l\\ {he Japane e herring roemark t \\olks. the Ala..,ka alner·oundallon hln~d Clinton Atkinsonand Yo hlO Kahu)-ama. long limeobsencrs of the Japanese fishing en­duvtr>, to prepare a detailed report ofthe Japanese herring industry.

The vummary of the reportfollows. Limited quantites of the fullreport are available from: AlaskaNative Foundation Fisheries Program.411 W. 4th Avenue, Anchorage, AK99501, telephone (907) 274-2541.

Summary

I. For centuri~s, herring wereabundant along the shores of northernJapan and historically have provided apopular food for the Japanese people.Although in 1926 and 1927, the firstyears of available statistics, the catchwas between 550,000 and 650,000 mt,the amounts landed in Japan havedropped to successively lower levelsuntil now, in 1978, a total of 6,700 mtwere landed - only 1/I00th of theformer yield.

2. The per capita consumption ofherring nuctuated between 0.230 and0.354 kg per person per year between1972 and 1978, dropped to a very lowof 0.120 kg per person per year in 1979,and has shown some recovery in 1980.

3. The high seas catches from theBering Sea between 1960 and 1979show a gradual shift eastward to thecentral and eastern Aleutian area,reaching a peak in the western BeringSea in 1964-65, in the mid-Aleutians(180· to 170"W) In 1968-69, in theeastern Aleutians (east of 170'W) in1974, and again in the mid-Aleutians in1976. The 2oo-mlle zones establishedby the United States, the USSR andCanada have nearly eliminated theJapanese high veas fishing neets fromthe Bering and Okhotsk Seas.

4. The Japanese ex-vessel pricefor herring, as measured by the marketprice at the Japanese Ports of Landing,increased rapidly after 1976, at leastpartially renecting the very markeddecrease in supply from the Japanesefisheries.

5. The landings of roe herring inBritish Columbia have also decreasedsince 1976 with a corresponding in­crease in ex-vcsscl price to thephenomenal price of Can$ 3,385 permetric ton in 1979 and a sharp declinein both landings (due largely to afishermen'~ strike) and ex-vessel pricein 1980.

6. An inl.:rease in the landings ofroc herring in Alaska occurred from1976 through 1980, in direct contrast"ith the decline In the British Colum­bian fi hery. The average peak pricefor roc herring in Alaska \\as onlyabout one-third that paid the Canadianfishermen in 1979.

7. The California landings havesho\'.:n a fluclUating but general in­crease since the records from the roeherring fishery were first available in1972173.

8. The average ex-vessel price pat­tern is similar for roe herring landed inCali fornia, British Columbia andAlaska for the past four to six years.The one year delay in the Californiavalues is due to the timing of thefishing season which is split betweentwo years (i.e., from November of one

•

,

Page 8/ Bering Sea Fisherman I April 1981

Oil and gas programs accelerate

Reagan proposes new off-shore lease plan

12 months,to December

Introduction to Bering Sea Fishermen's Association

On October 7, 1979, about 150 f"hcrmcn from o\cr 30 different villages from Kotlebue Sound to BristolBay met together in Bethel and formed the Bering Sea Fishermen's Association. Thc"ie fishermcn united toform this association so they could become involvcd in the profitable fisheries that were developing in theirown backyards.

The first goal of the Association \\3S to assist herring fishermen so that the~ could become 1I1\ohcd 111 therapidly expanding Bcring Sea Herring Fishery. The members 01 the Board of Directors IShich "cre elected atBethel worked together throughout the fall in preparing for the Board of Fisheries meeting in December. Thecooperation of these different people from the different regions resulted in the closure of most of the BeringSea north of Togiak to the use of purse seines for herring fishing. ThIS was a major \ ictory for local \ illagefishermen.

In mid-January, the Association established an office m Anchorage and hired staff to continue workmgto help the Bering Sea herring fishermen The Association intends to help Bering Sca lishermen m the follow­mg \\ays:

I. Represent the position of Western Alaskan fishermen to the state legislature and to the federal govern-ment.

2. Represent the position of Western Alaskan fishermen to the Board of Fisheries.3. Work to help establish a small boat loan program which would help \\estern Alaskan fishermen.4. Provide Western Alaskan fishermen with helpful information on herring markets, gear, boats, sources

of financing. and other elements in the fishery.5. \\ork to prohibit foreign boats from taking any salmon and herring within the 200 mile limit.

The Association is continuing its membership drive and hopes to sign up as many Western Alaskan fishermenas possible. The organization needs the financial support and also the ideas and knowledge of WesternAlaskan fishermen if it is to succeed. Dues are $10.00 a year. This is a small price to pay for membership in anorganization which for the first time can give the Western Alaskan fisherman some real political andeconomic doul.

-------------------------------------------------------I II II Bering Sea Fishermen's Association I

I MEMBERSHIP FORM II II Send this form and $10.00 annual dues to; II Bering Sea Fishermen's Association II 805 West Third Avenue, Anchorage, Alaska 99501 II II II NAME _ _ 5. The thlllg Ihat I want from Ihe B.S.F.A. is: II ADDRESS a) information on fisheries such as a II newsletter II 1. I fish for: b) someone to express my opinions in II a) herring Juneau and Washington, D.C. II b) salmon c) someone to express my opinions to II c) other the Fisheries Board II d) in what places d) someone to work in my region to help II people learn more about fisheries II 1. I have limited entry permits for: e) help in getting the Russian and Japan- II a) gear type ese fishing boats out of Alaskan waters II b) area f) other II II 3. I am mosl interested in fishing: 6. I would like the State Legislature to: lI

a) herring II b) salmon a) change the limited entry system II c) other b) set up a boat loan program especially II for small fishermen II 4. My major concerns with fisheries are: c) build small boat harbors II a) the limited entry system d) build fish meal plants so that the roe II b) the Department of Fish and Game - can be taken out of herring in my home- lI what? town and sold separately II c) poor regulations - what? e) improve my town's runway so it will be II easier to fly fish out II d) I need better equipment f) other II e) I would like better or more fish buyers I1 J

subarctic technology must be capableof dealing ",th the unique problems of(off-shore) production in Alaskanwaters, without risking Alaska's othervaluable resources.

"We have irreplaceable culturaland marine resources that are associ·ated with and affected by (off-shore)oil and gas development, and theseresources demand attention prior to ex·ploratory and production drilling mwaters off Alaska," he added.

Sen. Frank Murkowski, R-Alas­ka, was out of town and unavailablefor comment.

rtnc/wrage Times. 4 10 RI

government should emphaisze land­based drilling. "Huge areas of Alaskaare now open for oil and gas develop­ment, and I believe we should lookthere first. Offshore development cantake place, but only when the concernsof local areas - such as fisheries - areaddressed.

"We must also be certain that thegreatest care is taken to protect fragileenvironment, and that technology isavailable and up to the task of func­tioning under arctic conditions."

Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, saidin a statement released today the stateis concerned that "offshore arctic and

on the calendar at an earlier date,"Watt said. "We will more effectivelyanalyze the environmental impactstatements. And we will focus our ex­pensive research and analysis on thoselands to be leased, rather than on thebroader area we now focus on."

At the news conference, Watt pro­vided no details of the new five-yearschedule. Copies of the fact sheet andmap were obtained from congressionalsources.

Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, ex­pressed disappointment with the re­vised schedule.

In a statement, Y"ung said the

• Navarin Basin,from December 19841983.

• Chukchi Sea, one month, fromFebruary 1985 to January 1985. Lastyear's leasing plan had called for a salem the Chukchi Sea in 1985 only if thetechnology is available.

The new program also schedulessecond lease sales in most promisingareas, such as the Beaufort Sea and the

orton Basin, every two years. TheAndrus schedule had spaced the re­offerings three years apart.

At a news conference here today,Watt and Energy Secretary James B.Edwards said the revised five-yearschedule would be sent to governors ofcoastal states next week. Commentsare due May 11.

A supplemental environmentalimpact statement will be prepared onthe proposed changes, with a final leas­ing program expected to be adopted bythe end of the year.

Watt said his schedule will alsostreamline the time needed to prepareareas for lease.

"We will rearrange the schedule tomake the more attractive lands come

WASHINGTO - The Reaganadministration is proposing that thegovernment boos! the pace of oil andgas drilling off the coast of Alaska.

The Interior Department will pro­pose nexl week a new, accelerated five­year plan for oil and gas leases on theouter continental shelf off Alaska.

The schedule calls for 16 sales offAlaska between 1982 and 1986, sixmore than the plan set forth by formerInterior Secretary Cecil D. Andrus oneyear a80.

The plan moves up the dates ofsales in four of the five high-potentialoil ba>ins off Alaska, including the en­vironmentally sensitive areas of theNorth Aleutian> and the Chukchi Sea.

The new schedule is certain todra\\! nrc from the Hammond adminis­tration and the Alaska congressionaldelegation, which blasted the earlierAndrus plan for moving too quickly todrill off Alaska.

Bob Clark, communications dire!.:tor lor Gov, Jay Hammond, said toda)the go\crnor has not seen the revisedIca ing schedule, but added, "he', notgOlllg to be happy with it'

The Interior schedule calls for 42lea,e sale, nationwide in 1980-1986,\\ilh all six of the ne~ offerings inAlaska.

The new plan calls for dh ,ding upseveral of the areas prC\iOllsly pro­po,ed for leasing into two sales - in­cluding two in the North Aleutianshelf, two in the Navarin Basin andtwo In 51. George Basin.

In one action certain to pleaseAle>ka politicians, Interior SecretaryJames G. Watt dropped from theschedule a proposed 1983 sale off Ko­diak Island. Andrus had delayed thatsale from 1980 to 1983 due to protestsfrom the local fishing community andthe congressional delegation.

In a fact sheet explaining the newoffshore program, the Interior Depart­ment said the Kodiak sale was dropped10 order to concentrate managementresources in the other Alaskan areaswith higher potential.

The four sales that arc moved upunder the new schedule:

• Norton Basin, advanced fourmonths from September 1982 to May1982.

• North Aleutian Shelf, sixmonths from October 1983 to April1983.