Well, the week has ended without a new "biological opinion" from the feds on the effects of commercial fishing on the endangered Steller sea lion.
But don't fret, friends. It appears the BiOp certainly will be unveiled Monday, and it'll be a real trophy at 800-plus pages.
As Deckboss has noted previously, the anxiety level surrounding this document is high. Alaska's bottomfish industry could be facing costly new restrictions depending on what it says.
Among the concerned are the four U.S. senators from Alaska and Washington, who today sent this letter to Commerce Secretary Gary Locke urging that the long-delayed BiOp, once released, not be hurried through to final action.
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council has scheduled a special meeting for Aug. 16-19 at the Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage to consider the BiOp and any potential fishing restrictions.
Reading the letter that the Hon. Senator's staffers wrote is the most perfect study in govermentspeak that one could ever find. Making it sound as though their deepest concerns are over the life's of the dear sealions when it couldn't be further from the truth. Must be bad news coming for them to react so forwardly. I feel a good food fight coming! The real fun will be watching some of the CDQ groups squirm over the salmon issue.
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