Monday, July 29, 2013

No new IPHC commissioners anytime soon

We've been waiting quite a while for the Obama administration to decide on appointments to the International Pacific Halibut Commission.

And it appears the wait could last months longer.

The IPHC is a Seattle-based fishery management panel with three members from the United States and three from Canada.

The regular terms for U.S. members expired some time ago.

Now their terms have been extended pending new presidential appointments, says a recent update to nominees from Jim Balsiger, Alaska regional administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service and himself an IPHC commissioner.

Here's the update:

June 28, 2013

Dear 2013 IPHC Nominee:

This note is to bring you up-to-date on the latest developments concerning commissioner appointments for the International Pacific Halibut Commission. Current U.S. IPHC commissioners Ralph Hoard, Phillip Lestenkof, and myself received letters of alternate appointments this week from the U.S. State Department, notifying us that our terms as IPHC commissioners had been extended until June 2014, or until the President appoints two new commissioners, whichever occurs first.

Our appointment terms had expired in March. The extension of current appointments is to ensure U.S. representation on the IPHC until new presidential appointments can be made.

The process to fill the two vacant IPHC commissioner seats — for which you have been nominated — continues to go forward at this time.

Thank you for your continued patience.

Sincerely,

Jim

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

To many Fisherman it is a conflict of interest for Mr. Jim Balsiger to hold seats on State, Federal, and international Fisheries boards and councils.

If you remember his wife has been a Lobbyist for many of the North Pacific and Bering Sea Processors.

Seats on these councils control billions in profits to these processors. Including the NPFMC.

Where are the federal investigators?

Anonymous said...

Perhaps that is why the appointments are taking a long time - federal investigators on the job looking at "conflict of interest" in the Alaska fishing idustry. I hope that is what's happening.

Anonymous said...

Break out the tin foil hats. Some folks see a conspiracy around every corner. Mr. Balsiger is a qualified and capable representative of US interests, which is why he is regularly chosen to act in such a capacity.

Anonymous said...

It would be a better and fairer system if temptation of monetary gain were removed from an extremely powerful Government Employee's household.

Information that he is privy to cannot be protected when both sides live under the same roof.

Temptation is where conspiracies start, with or without foil rain gear, why take that chance.

Create a direct and clear line of what is a legal conflict of interest.