Alaska Boards of Fisheries and Game Take Up COVID Related Issues

Alaska’s Boards of Fisheries and Game are holding a series of meetings in January to discuss COVID-19 related issues and options for scheduling regulatory board meetings for the rest of their 2020-2021 meeting cycle.

Both boards acted earlier in the current meeting cycle to postpone regulatory meetings with the intent of reevaluating health issues. A special committee meeting of the two boards is set for Jan. 19, with a comment deadline of Jan. 15. The session is informational only, with no action to be taken. A second special meeting of the Alaska Board of Fisheries is set for Jan. 25, with a comment deadline of Jan. 20.

Public comments by the announced deadlines are encouraged to help the boards in their discussions and decision making. All meetings are to be held via Zoom and open to the public for viewing or listening via the Internet. Meeting materials, the audio stream link and comment submission process for the fisheries meetings are available at www.boardoffisheries.adfg.alaska.gov; For more information about these meetings contact Kristy Tibbles at 907-465-6098 or email her at kristy.tibbles@alaska.gov or Glenn Haight at 907-465-6095 or glenn.haight@alaska.gov.

Other upcoming virtual commercial fisheries meetings of interest include the 97th session of the International Pacific Halibut Commission’s 97th session, Jan. 25 and Jan. 26-29, and the February web conference of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, Feb. 5 and Feb. 8-12.

The IPHC last week had intended to have a special session to look at potential modifications to existing management plans, but due to various connectivity issues has deferred that item to be discussed by the IPHC on the morning of Jan. 26. The IPHC recognized the work of its Management Strategy Advisory Board to that issue and said it would provide further direction during its 97th session. Meeting documents for the annual meeting of the IPHC are online at https://www.iphc.int/uploads/pdf/am/am097/iphc-2021-am097-00.pdf.

A guide to the February meeting of the NPFMC is online at https://www.npfmc.org/upcoming-council-meetings/, including the agendas for the council, its Advisory Panel and Scientific and Statistical Committee, and options for providing testimony for each online,