Assembly
Dear Editor: Serving on our Sitka Assembly is a commitment that few of our neighbors are willing to take on. It involves a tremendous obligation of time and more importantly resilience. It is often a tough and thankless job especially during times of declining resources when many decisions at the table result in a disappointed citizenry.
For these reasons, I have refrained from being critical of actions taken by individual Assembly members. Unfortunately, I feel compelled to do so now.
In the last week, I feel those Assembly members who voted against hiring a city planner and acted to remove the city administrator have done harm to Sitka and the integrity of city hall at a time when both are in a fragile state. I do not have the knowledge to judge whether Mr. Brady is doing a good job, or whether the city planner was the best candidate, but I do know that the strategy employed by those to address their displeasure at the Assembly table falls far short of an honorable standard for how these issues should have been addressed.
I hope that as the Assembly moves forward that there can be a more respectful and constructive effort to address the multitude of challenging issues that will be confronting our community.
Mark Gorman, Sitka
Herring Stocks
Dear Editor: It’s been several years since my last letter to the editor concerning herring. Since this appears to now be a hot topic in Sitka, I’ll share with you what I know from years of researching the herring stock in Sitka.
At Board of Fisheries meeting in 2009, 2012 and 2015, I presented my peer-reviewed and published scientific research data on herring stock delineation and juvenile stock assessment. By using microchemistry of trace elements, this data concluded that there are two separate stocks of herring in Sitka Sound. The majority of these stocks consist of Sitka Sound fish, while the other smaller and more discrete stock consists of Salisbury Sound fish. There is evidence that there is a third stock, covering southern Baranof Island. Additionally, the Hoonah Sound herring population consists solely of Sitka Sound and Salisbury Sound herring stocks.
When ADF&G was presented this data, they chose not to consider independent research, but instead passed a so called “housekeeping” proposal at the 2012 Board of Fisheries meeting which revised 5 AAC 27.110 to now include Salisbury Sound (Area 13-B) with Sitka Sound (Area 13-A). They stated at the time the current management plan was inconsistent with the regulation, so they were bringing it inline. They also claimed that herring only use Salisbury Sound to spawn when Sitka Sound is “filled up.” This of course has no scientific basis and is inconsistent with their own spawn data, which shows in the years of low biomass abundance in Sitka Sound, fish still spawned in Salisbury Sound. The fact is ADF&G is content with assuming these were the same herring stocks.
When presented with my juvenile herring research, ADF&G replied, “we’re not in the business of managing juveniles.” Shocking, I know, as ADF&G fails to realize that they do indeed need to manage stocks based on all life stages. This would be considered eco-system based management. Instead, ADF&G only manages reproducing adult herring strictly for commercial exploitation, which is as shortsighted as one can be. ADF&G then released a report about how to improve their own management of herring, as well as the need to conduct research.
Report No. 1J10-01 is actually an audit of their current herring management program. This report outlines all of the shortsightedness of the department’s current management and illustrates that they are actually providing in-season management on a shoestring budget. In order for them to actively manage herring stocks in Southeast Alaska, covering all life stages, the department would need $500,000 annually. This report proposes that if the department had funds, they would conduct stock assessments and juvenile herring surveys, track movement and migration, and even do maturation and fecundity studies. I find this interesting, as I shared stock assessment and juvenile herring research with ADF&G and they disregarded it.
Next was my age data using otoliths, a proven method that is a scientifically more accurate way to age fish. I found my samples were consistently 1-2 years younger across all age classes than what ADF&G reported for age classes. This time I bypassed the local Sitka ADF&G office, and went right to the state’s Age and Tag lab. In collaboration with the Age and Tag lab, we sampled the same herring for age analysis. I used otoliths, the state used scales. The results showed ADF&G consistently over-aged herring by 1-2 years across all age classes. This age data is what feeds into the ASA model to predict the following year biomass. One can conclude the ASA model had been off for all of those years. Because of this study, the Age and Tag lab revised their standard operating procedures and methods for aging herring, which now includes a 1-year annulus check mark. Subsequently, all ASA historical data was revised to correct the age errors.
Finally, my stock delineation data shows that herring do in fact spawn on their natal beach – where they were born. This data directly correlates with ADF&G annual spawn maps. Herring are consistent in spawning in the same areas and on the same beaches. ADF&G will tell you they can’t predict where they will spawn, since it is all “random.” More recently, a permit holder claimed there is, “incredible variation of annual spawning locations.” This random spawning belief is inconsistent with ADF&G’s own spawn data dating back to 1964. By analyzing their spawn data and my stock data, it is clear herring consistently spawn in the “core” area. Where they historically don’t consistently spawn is the Kruzof shore line (less than 15 occurrences).
For many years I presented data which to me, and other researchers, indicates the activities of the commercial herring fishery, and in particular the pre-fishery activities of constant test setting and boats milling around a very small area, has indeed caused disruption of their natural spawning behavior. The pre-fishery activities disrupt the natural movements and spatial representation of pre-spawning and spawning herring. Recently, pre-spawning herring are restricting themselves to deep trenches in Sitka Sound, possibly a learned behavior used to avoid the nets of the commercial fleet, only to surface to nearby beaches the moment they are ready to spawn. They appear to spawn on the closest beach, now Kruzof Island, which may not necessarily be their historically natal beach.
This indicates a change in the natural distribution of spawn. This is a well-researched subject called “fishery-induced evolution and changing reproductive ecology of fish.” There wasn’t a fishery this year; however, we see a majority of spawning on the Kruzof shoreline. Might this indicate the newly learned behavior? On March 27, 2019 a commercial fisherman participating in the herring fishery, is on record saying, “restricting the test sets is a move to disturb the fish less. We want to make sure that we allow these fish to act freely...We’re looking at the biomass and how little of an impact we can have on it.” Could this be after many years, we finally have a sea change? I would like to hope so. The 2019 herring season is definitely one for the history books. 2019 is the year of no commercial fishery, missing age classes of older fish, lack of spawn abundance, and the community finally finding their voice.
Heather Meuret Woody, Sitka
PFD vs. Education
Dear Editor: I’d really like to see more solutions to Alaska’s budget crisis based on old-fashioned compromise. Our current governor won the election on the promise of a full PFD payment. As we have seen from multiple United States presidents, officials are now willing to go to unprecedented lengths to secure campaign promises for their respective bases.
Because of this I’m afraid railing against the results of a past election won’t do any good. Compromise might however.
How about withholding the PFD from every Alaskan minor for a year during which time public schools can claim 75 percent of it for every student they have enrolled? Prorate it down to a daily amount for the handful of kids who bounce around districts and still our schools could receive maybe an extra $2 million. Most importantly, every dollar would be coming from an Alaskan who directly benefits from public school services. This eliminates the argument that because there really are as many priorities as there are people in our state, it is compromise like this that can appeal to a wider demographic for approval while allowing a campaign promise to be kept; all without drastically changing our everyday lives. I hope the people of our state start suggesting similar solutions. Our legislators I’m sure could use the advice.
R.J. McCutcheon, Sitka
Thank You, Munchie Mart
Dear Editor: Sitka Chapter 159 Women of the Moose would like to take this opportunity to thank Munchie Mart for their continued support this last year. Their generous donations allowed us to provide prizes for our teen youths at various events and with candy to fill Easter eggs for our annual egg hunt coming up this Sunday. Small nonprofits really appreciate donations throughout the year that allow us flexibility when sponsoring events and fundraising which in turn allows us to support our community.
Recorder Faith Lee for
Sitka Chapter 159
Women of the Moose
