The politics of scallops and hair crab

State legislators wrapped up their 90-day session late Sunday, having spent most of their time on oil and gas issues.

Later this week, Deckboss hopes to write up a brilliant summary of the fisheries-related action in Juneau.

Here's one quick note for now.

Controversial legislation to extend limited entry for Alaska's weathervane scallop and Korean hair crab fisheries failed to pass the full Legislature.

Both are small fisheries, and hair crab actually has been closed for quite a few years.

These are the only fisheries in which permits are assigned to vessels, not people. Some legislators really disagree with that.

Scallopers lobbied hard, and the Senate did pass a bill, SB 54.

Resistance in the House, however, ultimately stymied things.

And so, at the end of the year, limited entry for the scallop and hair crab fisheries will expire.

Open access might be short-lived, however, as the legislation remains alive for the next session beginning in January 2014.