By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
NOAA Fisheries Alaska Regional Administrator Jon Kurland will provide an update 5:30 p.m. today on the agency’s response to the lawsuit filed by the Wild Fish Conservancy.
The session is in the main auditorium at Harrigan Centennial Hall. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council is meeting here through June 11 to take public comment and make decisions on federally managed fisheries.
The agenda for the council meeting is available at https://www.npfmc.org/ under “Our Meetings.”
The Wild Fish Conservancy filed its lawsuit in 2019 claiming the National Marine Fisheries Service’s incidental take statement unduly restricts the number of Chinook allowed to return to their native waters as prey for the endangered Southern Resident killer whales that spend part of the year in Puget Sound.
On May 2 U.S. District Court Judge Richard Jones issued a ruling upholding the December 13, 2022, recommendation by a federal magistrate judge to require NMFS to vacate and redo the biological opinion (BiOp) and the incidental take statement (ITS) that allow for the take of king salmon by the Southeast Alaska troll fleet.
The State of Alaska and Alaska Trollers Association are defendant- joiners of the lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service. NMFS, ATA and the state asked for a stay of the order which Jones denied May 26.
The U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of the Department of Commerce and the NMFS, filed notice of appeal on May 23.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced it will open the troll season for coho and chum by regulation July 1, but no Chinook retention will be allowed. Alaska Trollers Association is hoping the king salmon troll season will open as usual if a stay of a U.S. District Court order is granted by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, or federal fisheries managers make corrections to the biological opinion that is related to king salmon.
In an email to media and other members of the public Heather Bauscher, chairman of the Sitka Fish and Game Advisory Committee, said:
“Please show up to support our local fishermen and come prepared with any questions or concerns you may have regarding the future of fishing and the impacts of the closure on communities across the region.”
NMFS and NOAA “are working with ATA and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to defend the fishery,” she said.
Alaska Trollers Association board member Jeff Farvour said today he hopes that those speaking will be “polite, constructive and direct.”
“And that no matter what, WFC will use what people say against us, so keep that in mind,” he said.
ATA board president Matt Donohoe said the lawsuit has already caused damage to the industry in the form of legal costs, damage to the market, and uncertainty about this year’s troll season and the future. “It’s good someone from NOAA is coming to Sitka and talking to trollers about the lawsuit that’s really impacting the economy of the region,” he said.
With regard to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting taking place here, Bauscher said:
“While there doesn’t seem to be any item on the agenda specific to the bycatch issue there will be a presentation related to possible revisions of the National Standards under which the NPFMC operates, as well a presentation on a Programmatic EIS of the NPFMC program,” she said. “Those agenda items are the best to follow for folks who are feeling frustrated by the process and are concerned about the impacts of the decisions that get made through this regulatory forum.”
Andrew Thoms, executive director of Sitka Conservation Society, added today that he is disappointed that the council is not taking up trawl bycatch or salmon issues at this meeting.
“I’m also concerned about the lack of conflict of interest measures for people making decisions on the council,” he said.
