January 11, 2021 — The Sitka Tribe of Alaska in November won another round in its legal fight with the state over the management of the commercial herring fishery. And next week the court will hear new oral arguments and decide whether the state has upheld its constitutional responsibilities in its management of the fishery.
Andy Erickson is a lawyer with the firm Landye Bennett Blumstein, representing the Sitka Tribe of Alaska in its legal battle with the state that’s spanned over two years.
He says November’s proceedings were essentially “part two” of the court’s ruling on whether the state’s interpretation of a specific herring fishery regulation was lawful.
In March, Judge Daniel Schally ruled that the state had failed to demonstrate it was providing a “reasonable opportunity” for subsistence harvesters before opening the commercial fishery.
And in November, Schally issued a second order for “partial summary judgement” in Sitka Tribe’s favor. Schally determined that the state had failed to follow a regulation established by the Board of Fish in 2002.