Southeast charter industry lays out survival plans

Businesses that take tourists and others out for a day of halibut fishing in Southeast Alaska are facing dire times.

The abundance of halibut is decreasing, with corresponding cuts to catch limits.

New federal regulations now hold paying customers on charter boats to one keeper per day, rather than two.

A recession has staggered the nation's economy.

And the charter and commercial halibut fleets are rivals for fish not only on the water but in court and other forums.

Faced with all these troubles, charter captains are looking to weather the storm and fend off what they see as even greater dangers on the horizon.

The Southeast Alaska Guides Organization, a Sitka-based advocate for charter boat and lodge operators, recently distributed this detailed survival strategy.

Of particular note is a plan to seek $44 million in federal stimulus funding "to mitigate the impact of the recession in communities throughout Southeast Alaska."

Ghost crabber going away

The derelict Ocean Clipper. MCA Foundation photo

The Marine Conservation Alliance Foundation, a Juneau-based nonprofit that's cleaning up old fishing gear and other debris off Alaska beaches, has won $1 million in federal economic stimulus money for its work.

Part of the money will go toward removing an old crab vessel, the Ocean Clipper, laid up for many years on a rocky St. Paul Island beach.

The wreck is considered a hazard to a fur seal rookery there, especially pups that might wander into the broken hull and become trapped, said MCA Executive Director David Benton.

The hope is that a salvage company — most likely Magone Marine Service out of Dutch Harbor — can pull the wreck off the beach either this fall or next spring.

"It's going to be a real challenge," said Benton, as salvors will have to work around bad weather as well as the fur seals.