Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Alaska Fisheries Board Seeks Proposed Regulation Changes for Fisheries

The Alaska Board of Fisheries is accepting proposed regulation changes through 5 p.m. on April 10 for fisheries in the Bristol Bay, Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim and Alaska Peninsula/Aleutian Islands management areas. Proposals may be for commercial, subsistence, personal use, sport, guide sport and guided sport ecotourism finfish regulations. Finfish include salmon, herring, trout, groundfish, char, burbot, northern pike, whitefish, Pacific cod, sablefish, shark, and Pollock, but not halibut.

Examples of “statewide finfish” regulations can be found in Title 5 of the Alaska Administrative Code and include, but are not limited to, policy for the management of sustainable salmon fisheries, policy for the management of mixed stock fisheries, policy for statewide salmon escapement goals, possession of sport-caught fish, and fishing by proxy.

Proposals may be submitted by mail, fax, or online. The board is currently unable to accept proposals via email but hopes to soon be able to offer this option.

Mail proposals to ASD&F, Boards support Section, P.O. Box 115526, Juneau, AK 99811-5526; fax to 1-907-465-6094, or send online to http://boardoffisheries.adfg.alaska.gov/
Writers of proposals should use the Board of Fisheries proposal form, available from the Boards Support Section or online at http://www.boards.adfg.state.ak.us/fishinfo/index.php

Proposals must include a contact telephone number and address, as well as the name of the individual or organization making the proposal.

Fisheries board staff caution that language that is emotionally charged detracts from the substance of the proposal. The board's proposal review committee will review each proposal prior to publication.

The proposal review committee reserves the right to edit proposals containing offensive language. Proposals published in the proposal book will be referenced with the appropriate Alaska Administrative Code citation and include a brief description of the action requested. Following publication, proposal booklets will be available to advisory committees and the public for review and comment.

For more information, please contact the Alaska Board of Fisheries executive director at (907) 465-4110.