As the legislative session lumbers on in Juneau, an interesting bill has appeared that would make a big change in how people gain entry to Alaska's commercial fisheries.
House Bill 188, sponsored by Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, D-Sitka, would allow for the establishment of "regional fisheries trusts."
These trusts could hold fishery permits and lease them to Alaska resident fishermen "for a limited period of time," Kreiss-Tomkins says in his sponsor statement for the bill.
HB 188 aims to alleviate the problem of permits leaving rural Alaska communities, as well as the rising price of entering the fisheries.
The bill appears to be a modified version of the bill Kreiss-Tomkins offered last year to establish "regional community permit banks."
Showing posts with label Kreiss-Tomkins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kreiss-Tomkins. Show all posts
Saturday, April 1, 2017
Monday, February 8, 2016
Betting on herring spawn
State Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, D-Sitka, has filed House Bill 294 to create a "herring spawn classic."
The classic would be "a game of chance in which prizes are awarded for the closest guess of the postseason preliminary estimate of nautical miles of shoreline receiving spawn of Pacific herring, as determined by the Department of Fish and Game from aerial surveys between March and May," the bill says.
The Sitka Tribe of Alaska would operate the classic, Kreiss-Tomkins says in this sponsor statement.
The classic would be "a game of chance in which prizes are awarded for the closest guess of the postseason preliminary estimate of nautical miles of shoreline receiving spawn of Pacific herring, as determined by the Department of Fish and Game from aerial surveys between March and May," the bill says.
The Sitka Tribe of Alaska would operate the classic, Kreiss-Tomkins says in this sponsor statement.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Looking back on the election
Here are a couple of observations from last week's general election.
First, it appears state Rep. Bill Thomas, who calls himself the only commercial fisherman in the Alaska Legislature, might have lost his seat.
The Haines Republican currently stands 43 votes behind Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, Democrat from Sitka.
State election officials still must tally absentee and question ballots.
Even if Thomas somehow rallies past his young challenger, he won't keep his powerful post as co-chair of the House Finance Committee. That's because the House majority leadership on Thursday installed Rep. Alan Austerman, R-Kodiak, as committee co-chair, with Rep. Bill Stoltze, R-Chugiak, continuing as the other co-chair.
In other action, Alaska voters handily approved a $453 million bond issue for port and other transportation projects statewide.
The bonding package includes $10 million toward a proposed expansion of the Seward Marine Industrial Center.
This is of great interest to Coastal Villages Region Fund, a fishing company operating under the federal Community Development Quota program.
Coastal has amassed quite a fleet of fishing vessels, from salmon tenders right up to the 341-foot factory trawler Northern Hawk.
Coastal wants to "Alaskanize" its operations, which would involve basing its vessels not in Seattle but in an Alaska port, specifically Seward.
But $10 million doesn't get the job done. Recent studies have shown it would take several times that much to expand Seward's port sufficiently to accommodate Coastal's full fleet.
It would appear Coastal is working to woo as large a public subsidy as possible for its fleet relocation.
And why does Deckboss make such a remark?
Here's a press release from Coastal, issued on election day last week, that includes supportive comments from Alaska's entire congressional delegation, as well as state Rep. Paul Seaton, R-Homer.
First, it appears state Rep. Bill Thomas, who calls himself the only commercial fisherman in the Alaska Legislature, might have lost his seat.
The Haines Republican currently stands 43 votes behind Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, Democrat from Sitka.
State election officials still must tally absentee and question ballots.
Even if Thomas somehow rallies past his young challenger, he won't keep his powerful post as co-chair of the House Finance Committee. That's because the House majority leadership on Thursday installed Rep. Alan Austerman, R-Kodiak, as committee co-chair, with Rep. Bill Stoltze, R-Chugiak, continuing as the other co-chair.
In other action, Alaska voters handily approved a $453 million bond issue for port and other transportation projects statewide.
The bonding package includes $10 million toward a proposed expansion of the Seward Marine Industrial Center.
This is of great interest to Coastal Villages Region Fund, a fishing company operating under the federal Community Development Quota program.
Coastal has amassed quite a fleet of fishing vessels, from salmon tenders right up to the 341-foot factory trawler Northern Hawk.
Coastal wants to "Alaskanize" its operations, which would involve basing its vessels not in Seattle but in an Alaska port, specifically Seward.
But $10 million doesn't get the job done. Recent studies have shown it would take several times that much to expand Seward's port sufficiently to accommodate Coastal's full fleet.
It would appear Coastal is working to woo as large a public subsidy as possible for its fleet relocation.
And why does Deckboss make such a remark?
Here's a press release from Coastal, issued on election day last week, that includes supportive comments from Alaska's entire congressional delegation, as well as state Rep. Paul Seaton, R-Homer.
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