June 15
By Joe Kinneen
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game hosted a listening session on Wednesday for members of the public to share how they think relief funds for closed fisheries should be distributed.
The disaster relief fund announced last month will see a total of $215.9 million going to affected stakeholders in the Norton Sound, Prince William Sound, Bristol Bay, and Chignik fisheries, as well as those along the Kuskokwim River.
Most of Wednesday’s discussion centered around how payments would be distributed, with many suggestion on how recipents should be paid. Chignik fisherman Ernie Carlson favors tiered distribution based on volume.
“I would just basically go with a tier program. And you know, go by what your performance is, you know — because some fishermen fish harder than others,” Carlson said.
While most discussions centered around the most recently declared disasters for fisheries, there were also discussions about disasters on the Yukon in 2021, and on the Kuskokwim in 2020.
“People have been eagerly awaiting, you know, updates on the, you know, disaster request process for 2020 and 2021,” Bethel resident Jennifer Hooper said.
Similar programs have seen recipients of relief funds wait three to four years before a disbursement. Karla Bush, extended jurisdiction program manager of ADF&G, says steps have been taken to prevent long delays.
“There have been some tighter timelines imposed, which I think is great for the fishery stakeholders. You know, it’s not always helpful to get the money three years after the disaster, four years in some cases,” Bush said.
Wednesday’s meeting was designated for:
2020 Prince William Sound pink and coho fisheries — $15,730,357 in assistance
2021 Chignik salmon fishery — $4,989,902 in assistance
2021 Kuskokwim and Norton Sound salmon fisheries — $1,268,317 in assistance
2020 and 2021 Norton Sound red king crab fisheries — $2,804,214 in assistance
Thursday will be the second day for public comment which will focus on:
2021/22 Bristol Bay red king crab and Bering Sea snow crab fisheries — $94,489,726 in assistance
2022/23 Bristol Bay red king crab and Bering Sea snow crab fisheries — $96,621,465 in assistance
Those who want to provide comment on a specific fishery can do so by emailing ADF&G dfg.com.fisheriesdisasters@alaska.gov or submitting them on the ADF&G website. Comments will be taken until June 30th, at which point ADF&G will begin drafting spending plans. Comments received after June 30 will affect the upcoming second draft of spending plans.