President Obama has named his picks for the International Pacific Halibut Commission.
They are Robert D. Alverson, James W. Balsiger and Donald R. Lane.
Here's a press release from the White House.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Alaska commercial fishing news and notes
About me
- Deckboss
- I'm a journalist covering Alaska's commercial fishing industry. My real name is Wesley Loy. Reach me at wloy61@gmail.com.
Blog archive
-
▼
2014
(183)
-
▼
January
(14)
- Sea lion goes for fisherman at Sitka
- Hatchery honcho wanted in Kodiak
- Effort to ban setnets is now a court case
- Parnell says state has deal with Walmart
- MLK and CDQ
- Washington watch
- Halibut catch limit down 11 percent
- Here's your Copper River salmon forecast
- New boss named for NMFS
- Know fish?
- We have halibut commissioners!
- Initiative to ban setnets rejected
- Trident sues to safeguard its name
- Walmart summit set
-
▼
January
(14)
9 comments:
Congratulations, Robert A. - your patience has paid off, and will continue to serve the industry.
Groundswell - Stephen Taufen
Clearly they chose age before beauty. Captain Laine is a nice guy and well qualified but is certainly not a sportfish represetitive in any way shape or form. I am sure these two will work as well as anyone considering the train wreck that is the halibut resource.
Very good choices with these two. Now at least we have two of the three people on there that have an understanding of the fishery and protecting the halibut. The ironic part of this is that Balsinger remains on this commission.....His past history has shown him to be no friend of the longline fleet. Basically a "trawler apologist" in disguise along with his trawl/processer lobbyist wife. Look at his past track record that gives less observer coverage to the trawl fleet (but his NMFS looks at this program as a "success") and a it took him far too long to get any reduction in the trawl halibut bycatch...what was finally enacted was just a drop in the bucket. Now the strong rumour going around the GOA is that he is trying to get the trawl fleet the ability to keep their halibut bycatch and bring it in to the shore. Imagine what that will do to your halibut market. Just what we need... trawl caught mini fillets will collapse any gains in pricing that we have enjoyed in the past. I am reminded of the "Emporer has no clothes" story with him. He is very connected and powerful and people are afraid to tell him what they really think about his involvement with decisions that hurt the halibut resource all the while sitting on the IPHC.
It would be against the US-Canada halibut treaty to allow trawl caught halibut in the marketplace. Stop spreading false rumors. Your comment only shows that you know nothing about Jim Balsiger or the fishery management process.
It's not a rumor, the IPHC has discussed allowing the sale of trawl caught halibut. You are guilty of what you accuse others of, ignorance.
Balsiger and his lobbyist wife are a plague on Alaskan fisheries. They have reduced observer coverage on the drag fleet, increased the profitability of their "gaming" said coverage all the while professing the opposite officially.
The "emperor has no clothes" story is no one in the "Council Family" dares speak of the lobbyist wife/conflict of interest in public.
I agree about the details of the treaty but you will learn a little more about the management process when you hear about the possible trawl issue in the future. It is being whispered about now at the NPFMC and you can be sure Balsinger is well aware. This is much bigger than a few halibut fishermen. I gave examples of his involvement on the halibut and lack of support......please give us all your reasoning on how Balsinger is good for halibut. I want specific examples of what he has done in his time with IPHC.....no smoke....if you have solid examples of halibut please just start telling us all!
Reply to 10:54....it might be against the halibut treaty as it currently stands but this is much bigger then a pesky bunch of setline fishermen. Think NAFTA, international trade, etc. The NPFMC is whispering about this as part of a bigger package of fish management issues and Balsinger is right in the thick of it. I gave specific examples of his participation(or lack of) in the observer program that actually reduced the coverage for the hard on the bottom trawl fleet and the tiny reduction in halibut trawl bycatch. It is ironic that he sits on the IPHC! Please give us your examples of where he has helped the halibut fleet...You seem to know so much about Balsinger and the fish management process..STANDING BY!
That is correct if you look at the by catch work groups latest review, one suggestion was in fact to sell by catch halibut.
No question about it! One must have a huge conflict of interest in order to sit on any of these agencies. There is no better example of the fox being in charge of the chicken house than the makeup of these people who benefit most from their regulatory actions. Un F.....g believable!
Post a Comment