As expected, the plan is drawing considerable opposition. And the opposition has succeeded in sinking past attempts to end Alaska's halibut war.
Deckboss yesterday saw the above advertisement on an Alaska news site. Clicking on the ad took me here, where we learn that halibut charter operators are lining up lawyers, lobbyists and donations to try to block the catch sharing plan.
The plan would establish a clear allocation of halibut between the rival charter and commercial fleets.
To supporters, the plan would settle the rivalry, allow enough halibut for both sectors, and protect fish stocks.
To opponents, the catch sharing plan means charter anglers "will have their halibut taken away and then offered back to them, for rent."
Tony Weaver, a sportfishing columnist for the Anchorage Daily News, yesterday offered his take on the plan.
He urges the sportfishing masses to oppose it, saying: "I don't want to end up getting my halibut at Costco."
Any comeback, commercial guys?
More of the same. No matter how many concessions the longline fleet gives, the charter boys want more. It's been going on for years, decades in fact; and each time a workable solution is found to end this ongoing allocation dispute and put the best interest of the resource first, the charter fleet balks just before any plan can be made permanent. The bottom line has always been and remains that these guys want to maintain unlimited access to the halibut resource for commercial gain without bearing any of the responsibility for its future. Who's taking a bite out of whom...again?....
ReplyDeleteAgreed the charter guys are totally unrealistic. There are only so many fish to catch, and an equitable solution must be had. The sport fishermen are a well organized grow especially when they lean on out of state sport enthusiast groups to help fund and organize.
ReplyDeleteHear hear, 6:59, couldn't have said it better myself. The goal is
ReplyDeletealways to pump up the hysteria at the last possible moment for maximum effect.
If they pass the CSP, and they will, I really worry about the fate of rockfish and lingcod stocks because we're going to see increased pressure on those fish as a result. It already happens when these guys cant catch their 2 halibut. Restrict them to one halibut and it makes their job easier, then they can go beat up on rocks and lings.
ReplyDeleteWe go thru the same problems in BC where the commercial sports sector (they hate to be called commercial they want to be lumped in with mom and pop who have every rite to catch sports fish) wants a bigger share whenever the catchable stock goes down. It was fine when the quota was at its peak. They have no proper validation method for the science of the fishery.
ReplyDeleteWith only one sportsfishing seat on the NPFMC they could not pass anything without a commfish bias to it. If they were so worried about us going over the guideline harvest level, why did they not just make it a hard cap? Because they can't resist stealing fish from the sportsfishmen (typical fox in charge of the hen house). The guided angler fish part of this has no chance of working, my customers buy the chance to catch a fish and make out great if they get a big one. They don't buy fish from me, that's a commfish job and never the two should be blended.
ReplyDeleteI am a charter guy and the CSP will not kill my business but all the bullshit, panicking rhetoric about a one fish bag limit that these idiots are putting up everywhere will kill it faster than any plan,
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing in the CSP that says a one fish bag limit is whats coming. Its all speculation to raise hysteria and it is going to back fire and kill my business.
Should have bought IFQs instead.......My bad
commercial fishermen have to quit playing this game the charter fleet has no problem throughing out the lawsuits trying to steal something that does not belong to them or there customers to take home!the halibut belong to the person who depends on them as there sole resource for there liveyhood,for commercial fishermaen that is the halibut,for the guided commercial sport fisherman that is the tourist that get off the tour ships with there big fat wallets.maybe we commercial halibut fisherman should surround each tour ship that comes in and demand half the tourist that leave the ship.if there are no more halibut thecommercial halibut fisherman has no recource he or she's simply out of business period!on the other hand the commercial charter operator just turns to whale waqtching tours.so i think if the commercial halibut fisherman stop these games and hire a law firm to bring suit to protect there way of life they would pervail on the issue of who REALLY depends on halibut for there very living.it's one thing to advertise come to alaska have an adventure and quite another thing to advertise come to alaska and take halibut or crab cod or any other of our resources home!this is just my opinion and i have commercial halibut fished for 35 years.
ReplyDeleteBravo to 8:09 AM
ReplyDelete