Saving Seafood

ALASKA: ‘Future of Fishing’ panel hopeful that Alaska’s near-term crises will be met with long-term vision

December 28, 2022 — Although a number of Alaska’s fisheries have collapsed, or are otherwise under threat, some of the people most deeply involved in fishing advocacy believe that recovery is not just possible, but necessary to the well-being of our communities and our planet.

KCAW in Sitka recently held a one-hour forum on the Future of Fishing (12-16-22), and the three panelists all found reasons to be hopeful that continued research, traditional knowledge, and historical perspective will all play a role in charting a path to the future.

Harvey Kitka is a lifelong Sitkan, whose father was a commercial seiner around the time of statehood, when fishermen were paid by the fish, rather than by the pound. His grandfather seined prior to the arrival of hydraulics, and pulled the weighted webbing by hand.

As an indigenous Alaskan, Kitka has one foot in a millenia-old subsistence tradition, but both eyes on the future. He’s uniquely positioned to bring deep perspective to policy decisions, and he’s been no stranger to the testimony table at the state Board of Fisheries. He is an advocate for rebuilding Southeast herring stocks.

Read the full article at KCAW

Juneau judge denies Sitka Tribe’s motion on constitutional grounds

April 23, 2021 — The commercial and subsistence herring seasons in Sitka have drawn to a close. But the legal case between Sitka Tribe of Alaska and the state continues, with a Juneau Superior Court judge recently denying Sitka Tribe’s motion for summary judgement on constitutional grounds.

Last fall, the Sitka Tribe of Alaska won two victories against the state in the fight over its management of the Sitka Sound Sac Roe Herring Fishery. And in January the legal team representing STA made its third case, arguing that the state had not met its constitutional duties in its operation of the fishery. Juneau Superior Court Judge Daniel Schally denied STA’s claim in a ruling issued last month.

Read the full decision here

During oral argument in January, attorneys representing STA argued that the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is required under certain clauses of the Alaska State Constitution to use the “best available information” when making management decisions about the fishery. They argued that the state had not used the “best available information” during the 2018-2019 season when it failed to provide a subsistence harvest data report and a scientific study reviewing the state’s model to the Board of Fish.

After the hearing, it took Judge Schally nearly eight weeks to issue a ruling. In his 13 page decision, Schally wrote that the state’s constitution does not require the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to use the “best available information.”

Read the full story at KCAW

ALASKA: Sitka Tribe scores one win in herring lawsuit and tries for another

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.

Read the full story at KTOO