09-34 Request U.S. Commerce Secretary to reject NPFMC decision regarding chinook bycatch

Published on November 10th, 2009

By ALEX DEMARBAN

Summary

NPFMC adopted a hard cap of 60,000 chinook salmon and a performance cap of 47,591 chinook salmon, set to start in 2011. Gary Locke should reject that decision and send the proposal back to NPFMC.

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Full Text

RESOLUTION 09-34

REQUESTING THE U.S. SECRETARY OF COMMERCE, GARY LOCKE TO REJECT THE DECISION OF THE NORTH PACIFIC FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCIL ADDRESSING THE CHINOOK BYCATCH IN THE BERING SEA POLLOCK TRAWL FISHERY IN APRIL 2009

WHEREAS: Denby Lloyd, Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, during the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) meeting held in Anchorage on April 1 through April 7, 2009, submitted a motion for the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council to consider the following:

• An overall cap of 68,392 Chinook salmon

• Performance cap of 47,591 Chinook salmon; and

WHEREAS: Eventually, the NPFMC adopted a hard cap of 60,000 Chinook salmon and a performance cap of 47,591 Chinook salmon which will take effect in the year 2011; and

WHEREAS: The composition of the Bering Sea Chinook bycatch in the Bering Sea Pollock trawl fishery, according to Kate Myers, is 56% of Western Alaska origin, 31 % of Cook Inlet origin, 8% Southeast AlaskalBritish Columbia origin, and the remaining 5% of Kamchatka origin; and

WHEREAS: Up to 95% of the Chinook bycatch in the Bering Sea Pollock Trawl fishery is of Alaska origin; and

WHEREAS: Many of the Chinook salmon producing rivers and streams in Alaska are facing conservation concerns to include the Stikine and Taku Rivers in Southeast Alaska, the Kenai and the Deshka in the Cook Inlet region, the Karluk and Ayakulik River of the Kodiak region, the Nushugak River in the Bristol Bay region, the Kwethluk, Tuluksak, and the George in the Kuskokwim River region, the Unalakleet River in the Norton Sound region and the Yukon River, Copper River and in the Gulf of Alaska; and

WHEREAS: The Bering Sea Pollock Trawl fishery impacts all Chinook salmon producing rivers in Alaska; and

WHEREAS: The Tribes of the Lower Yukon region are deeply concerned that the NPFMC actions does not address the critically low forecast of the Chinook salmon returns on the Yukon River in the summer of 2009; and

WHEREAS: The 2008 Chinook salmon returns on the Yukon River were far below the numbers necessary for conservation, to meet international treaty obligations, to provide for the aboriginal needs of the Indigenous people in Yukon Territory, Canada, and far below the number of Chinook salmon necessary to meet the subsistence needs of the Yukon River Tribal families and to provide for commercial opportunities essential to meet the financial needs of the Yukon River Tribal families; and

WHEREAS: Specifically, on the Yukon River, the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, in cooperation with the u.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, opened the 2008 subsistence salmon harvest season with windows regulations in place for the entire Yukon River; and implemented reduced and outright subsistence closures; and

WHEREAS: The return of the Yukon River Chinook salmon began fearfully slow and required even further restrictions placed on the Yukon in-river subsistence fishermen and their families (i.e., from the 2 36-hour openers in the Lower River districts down to 2 18-hour openers) for fear that the "run abundance would not support the customary subsistence harvests and meet escapement goals in Alaska and meet the interim management escapement goal of at least 45,000 fish into Canada agreed to by the Yukon River Panel," (taken from the ADFGIUSFWS 2008 Yukon River Summer Salmon Fishery News Release #14, dated June 22,2008), and, in the lower river districts, the mesh size was reduced to a maximum of 6-inch stretch mesh in order to conserve Chinook salmon; and

WHEREAS: By the end of the 2008 season, it was determined that the total Yukon River run was approximately 151,000 Chinook salmon (36% below the most recent 5-year average) and was not enough to satisfy all of the historical needs, including Subsistence; and

WHEREAS: Since 2001 to date, the minimum number of Chinook salmon intercepted and wasted by the Bering Sea Pollock fishery is over 450,000, most notably the 2007 record high by-catch amount of 122,000; and

WHEREAS: In the meantime, the Bering Sea Pollock fishery continues to fish without any regulatory restrictions, further endangering our future Chinook salmon resources and our ability to meet our subsistence and small scale in-river commercial fishery needs; and

WHEREAS: Subsistence and commercial Chinook users cannot wait until 2011 for effective management measures to be implemented, for fear of another season such as 2007, where 120,000+ Chinook salmon were wasted in the Bering Sea Pollock fishery, and for additional years of no commercial fishing and not meeting subsistence needs.

WHEREAS: During the month of January 2009, Mr. Nick Tucker of Emmonak, wrote a letter to the Anchorage Daily News outlining the sufferings, hardships, and dilemma's people were facing in the village of Emmonak as a result of a failed Chinook directed commercial fishery, high energy costs, high transportation and food costs; and

WHEREAS: The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) representative expressed, to the NPFMC, that the current regulatory action was not sufficient for the USFWS to meet its obligations to the rural residents for their subsistence needs under Title VIII of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act; and

WHEREAS: The United States State Department representative expressed her concern that the NPFMC current action does not meet the needs of the Yukon River Salmon Agreement where the treaty agreement requires the United States to allow a minimum escapement of 45,000 Chinook salmon through the international boundary on the Yukon River; and

WHEREAS: In the summer of 2009, the Alaska Department of Fish & Game and the USFWS, Office of Subsistence Management placed severe subsistence and commercial restrictions on the tribal members on the United States side of the Yukon River to include the following:

• No directed commercial fishery for Yukon River Chinook salmon

• No subsistence fishing on the first pulse and perhaps the first-half of the second pulse which resulted in an absolute subsistence fishing closure

• Federal fisheries managers implemented severe Chinook fisheries regulations to limit the harvest of Chinook salmon to federally qualified rural subsistence users

• Subsistence fishing was restricted to two 18-hour openings per week on the Lower Yukon districts of Y-l, Y-2, and Y-3

• In the coastal district, the subsistence fishery was open for seven days a week, however, subsistence fishermen are restricted to six inch maximum mesh nets only; and

WHEREAS: The Alaska Department ofFish & Game's mission is as follows: "To protect, maintain, and improve the fish, game, and aquatic plant resources of the state, and manage their use and development in the best interest of the economy and the well-being of the people of the state, consistent with the sustained yield principle; and

WHEREAS: In our villages, the reserves of dried and frozen Chinook salmon, a primary food source, were severely depleted due to high energy costs which trickled down to high grocery costs in the winter of 2008; and

WHEREAS: Due to high energy costs and high grocery costs, people had to rely on more subsistence foods since the cash economy was introduced to our villages.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the delegates to the 2009 Annual Convention of the Alaska Federation of Natives calls for the u.S. Secretary of Commerce, Gary Locke, to reject the April 2009 decision of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council addressing the bycatch of Chinook salmon and revert the decision back to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council to further protect our Alaska origin Chinook salmon; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of Commerce utilizes his authority to implement a hard cap of 32,500 Chinook Salmon in the Bering Sea Trawl Fishery by an emergency regulation.

SUBMITTED BY: ASSOCIATION OF VILLAGE COUNCIL PRESIDENTS

BOARD ACTION: TO FLOOR

CONVENTION ACTION: AMENDED AND PASSED