UFA's internal debate

United Fishermen of Alaska, the state's top commercial fishing group, has been looking since July for a new executive director.

Naturally, we're all wondering how the search is going.

Deckboss can provide a little insight in the form of a "confidential" email that came his way today. The email is "inside baseball," to some degree, but I expect most readers can follow it. So here it is:

Subject: UFA Exective Director selection process and list of applicants--draft memo
Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2012 10:39:31 -0800
From: Roland Maw
To: Undisclosed Recipients

Confidential:
Draft:

UFA Board:

We have received the ED selection process memorandum and the list of candidates and I wish to make a few comments on the process. In particular, one of the candidates and her relationship with some of the EC members who will be involved in making EC recommendations to the full Board. First of all, I would recommend that no less than three candidates names be forwarded to the full Board, and that the final selection require a two thirds majority vote of approval.

In terms of applicants, my particular concern is with Julianne Curry, with whom I have professional experiences and observations at the NPFMC relative to the Salmon FMP issue. It is not about Julianne as a person, and it is not about personal issues, instead, it is about her history with fishery policy agendas, how she has pursued them and her professional relationships with UFA groups. I am concerned only about this matter in regard to what is best for UFA as a professional organization. Questions often arise as to how Julianne, with her narrow focus on fisheries issues, lack of willingness to listen to opposing points of view and unwillingness to compromise, can fairly represent the diverse issues of UFA as a statewide commercial fishery organization.

Concerns occur on a regular basis at the NPFMC Advisory Panel (AP) regarding her involvement with the "Super 8," otherwise known as "the Angry 8," on the AP. This group, comprised of two UFA voting member group reps, PVOA and ALFA, routinely votes as a minority block on the AP and develops lengthy minority opinions, both of which are the subject of controversy. Other notable groups represented in the “Angry 8” are: AMCC, the Gulf of Alaska Coastal Communities Coalition (GOAC3) and the Yukon River Drainage Fisheries Development Association (YRDFA). The “Angry 8” group has been a subject of discussion at the AP of the NPFMC for almost a year, resulting in the Chairman of the NPFMC delivering a warning to the AP, through the Chair of the AP, about this issue. The “Angry 8” group unnecessarily takes on issues outside their respective geographic areas, and, in so doing, they injure other UFA member groups. In the case of Cook Inlet, Julianne spoke in favor of the revision to the Salmon FMP against the interests of UCIDA. In the light of these activities, how can she fairly represent member groups as the ED of UFA?

This issue needs to come to light in this selection process and needs to be known to the full Board. There are numerous salmon-based organizations who are not involved in the Council process and are unaware of this organized political activity at the Council. The subject of the "Angry 8" has also become a subject of interest with at least one member of the press. The voting record of the "Angry 8" is a matter of record in the Council minutes. This issue remains an ongoing subject of discussion within the EC of the NPFMC.

Julianne began telling people at the UFA February 2012 winter Board meeting in Juneau that she was going to apply for the UFA ED position in the fall when it was announced. She also announced that she would be resigning from PVOA. Since then, she has made no effort to communicate with any of the group representatives to discuss her plans and goals, if she is to be selected and to tell us how she can fairly represent our diverse interests.

Does this cover bite?

It seems the September issue of Pacific Fishing magazine, above, put editor Don McManman in the doghouse.

Dozens of readers lodged complaints about the cover photo showing Lucky, a dog, trying to "pick" a salmon from a Bristol Bay setnet.

Bristol Bay fishermen have worked hard to raise the quality of their product in recent years, and the cover casts the bay in a bad light, the readers said. As one reader put it, "this cover photo is just bad for business."

McManman, in the October issue just out, writes that "if you're upset with the cover, I apologize."

OK, Deckboss can certainly understand how Bristol Bay producers might cringe at an image of a dog chomping on what might end up as somebody's dinner. How does that help sell the bay's millions of tasty sockeye?

But from a journalistic standpoint, I like the photo. It makes for a fun, sassy cover.

The critics should remember that Pacific Fishing, and Deckboss, aren't mere marketing tools for industry. If they were, I doubt you'd bother reading them.

So, what's your opinion of the cover?

Full disclosure: I've been a contributing writer for Pacific Fishing magazine for many years.

Dear Jane

Last month, three independent experts sharply criticized a federal "biological opinion" on the Steller sea lion.

The National Marine Fisheries Service had used the controversial BiOp as the basis for restricting commercial catches in the western and central Aleutians. The intent is to leave more cod and other fish in the water for the endangered Stellers to eat.

The question now is whether the expert reviews will carry any weight in two ongoing forums on the Steller issue.

One forum is the federal courts, where the state and commercial fishing groups are suing in an effort to overturn what they regard as scientifically unsupported fishery restrictions.

The other forum is the federal bureaucracy, as NMFS prepares an environmental impact statement. A judge in January faulted the agency for not doing an EIS prior to imposing the fishing restrictions.

With that as background, here's an interesting letter the Freezer Longline Coalition recently sent to Jane Lubchenco, the Obama administration official who oversees NMFS. The Seattle-based group is among those suing the government, naming Lubchenco herself as a defendant.

In its letter, the group "respectfully" asks Lubchenco to notify the courts of the "new, important, and compelling information" in the expert reviews. It also asks her to "withdraw the BiOp."

Moonlight Maid goes down

We lost a special boat with the sinking of the Moonlight Maid last week south of Resurrection Bay. Fortunately, the Coast Guard rescued all four people aboard. Clayton Paddock, who said he captained the vessel during the salmon season but had been off the boat for about a month, sent these photos. The mermaid was painted on the stack. The 110-foot wood-hulled boat was built in 1942 as a Navy subchaser, and was among a very few still afloat. More details here.

Bristol Bay — Alaska's salmon MVP

This year's catch of nearly 20.6 million sockeye at Bristol Bay paid fishermen $117.8 million, says this season summary from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Four rescued from raft south of Resurrection Bay

The U.S. Coast Guard says it rescued four men from a life raft Thursday night after they abandoned the fishing vessel Moonlight Maid more than 30 miles south of Resurrection Bay.

"The crew reported that the vessel was sinking and they were donning survival suits and entering their life raft," the Coast Guard said.

Here's the mayday call.

A helicopter out of Kodiak located the raft at 10:51 p.m. and safely hoisted the fishermen and took them to Seward.

Reported weather conditions at the time the vessel sank included winds of 20 to 30 mph and 13-foot seas.

The Coast Guard planned to conduct an overflight to check for debris and pollution.

The state Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission lists the Moonlight Maid as a 110-foot wood-hulled vessel, built in 1942.

No go for Southeast red king crab

After opening in 2011 to end a five-year shutdown, the Southeast Alaska commercial red king crab fishery will remain closed this year due to weak stocks.

State fishery managers say the biomass of mature male crab is at its lowest level in 22 years. Read more here.

Last season, 54 permit holders had a small but lucrative harvest of 176,083 pounds of red king crab. The crab paid $10.64 per pound at the docks, for a total fishery value of $1.87 million.