Tuesday, October 9, 2012

UFA's short list

Deckboss hears reliably that United Fishermen of Alaska, the state's largest commercial fishing association, has narrowed the pool of applicants for the executive director's position to these three:

• Joe Childers, a former UFA president

• Julianne Curry, the outgoing executive director of the Petersburg Vessel Owners Association

• Sarah Melton, a former fisheries analyst on the staff of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council

UFA is expected to make its selection at its Oct. 17-19 board meeting in Anchorage.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Deckboss, you really need to step up your investigative journalism. How can you drop a bomb like "former fisheries analyst" regarding Ms. Melton without discussing what it was that Ms. Melton did while she was a Council employee?

Deckboss readers may remember Ms. Melton as the NPFMC staff analyst previously charged with analysis of Bering Sea areas of high skate egg concentrations. In April, the SSC savaged her draft analysis and urged the Council not to release it for publc review. As one example of the shoddy work, despite Council direction to describe these areas as "areas of high skate egg concentrations", she persisted in calling them "skate nurseries" and argued in her analysis why she was right and the Council was wrong. It appeared to many industry observers that she had a strong bias against the commercial fisheries.

In her short time with the NPFMC and as a matter of public record, Ms. Melton exhibited poor analytical skills, sloppy writing, an inability to follow directions, and a (rightly or wrongly) perceived anti-industry bias. It is amazing to me that someone with these traits could possibly be considered on the short list for UFA's executive director (unless her inclusion on the list is merely to make the other candidates look better by way of comparison).

Anonymous said...

"Make the other candidates look better by comparison"? No way! Sarah's way hotter than Julianne, and both are way hotter than Joe (Sorry, Joe!).

Anonymous said...

I don't believe it! J.C. in the top three. You got to be kidding. There will be an exodus from UFA, I promise. Surely there is a cadre of ore qualified persons that could have applied. Just my opinion, but this is not my first rodeo fter nearly 40 years in the industry.

Anonymous said...

To be honest, the council was inventing a new term to replace the well established term,"nursery" at the insistence of a few industry opinion leaders. They insisted upon "egg concentration areas" for fear that news of them trawling up a "nursery" would create a public relations problem. So grains of salt are recommended.

Anonymous said...

She is hot.

Anonymous said...

Yes, there is a counterpoint to the skate "nursery" debate, but that is beside the point.

The position currently under consideration is for a representative of a fishing industry organization. Someone in that role would need to accept direction from the organization's Board to fulfil it's advocacy. In her brief tenure with the NPFMC, Ms. Melton served at the direction of the Council (not unlike a Board), which gave her specific instructions based on industry concerns, instructions that she did not follow. (One wonders why her NPFMC tenure was so brief?) Is this the sort of candidate that would be an appropriate choice for leading an organization that represents industry and takes direction from a Board?

Others have made mention of her law degree as a qualification. This "qualification" appears mixed. The experience with the skate HAPC analysis suggests either that the law degree does not guarantee competence, or that if capable, there is an underlying bias. I would think that UFA would want as its representative neither a shoddy lawyer nor a capable one adverse to fishing interests.

Ms. Melton is not a serious candidate. The real choice is between the two JCs.


Anonymous said...

Are we looking for an analyst? Because I thought we needed an executive director/lobbyist. Would be nice to have someone in there with a backbone for a change. And aren't we looking for an external candidate to fill our position?

JC will mean an exodus, Joe is internal. You think SM is your enemy. Why don't we wait until we actually see the candidates this week before trying to win a campaign without a vote?

You're trying to eliminate a candidate without having to own your own opinion. At least Bobby T stood behind his criticism. Do I smell MCA? Or are you concerned the attorney might sue?

Anonymous said...

Hotness is always a nice trait to have in a lobbyist!! Sorry Joe!

Anonymous said...

I thought Ms. Melton worked for the Executive Director, who hires, and is supposed to give all sides of a debate in an action. What did the scientists say? Are we happy with the outcome of this skate thing? I thought they were just bycatch. Do we have a fishery for them? Cause if so, I just found another source of income!

Anonymous said...

There are places in Seattle that will buy skates to fry up the wings. Sushi places. Not a lot of money - too bad.

Anonymous said...

It's Julianne.

Congratulations.

You go girl.