AMSEA is holding drill conductor classes in Petersburg on February 4th and 5th at the Tides in. There will also be a Strains, Sprains, and Pains prevention class on February 5th. You can sign up at www.amsea.org or by calling (907) 747-3287. All the classes in Petersburg will be free to commercial fishermen.
Alaska’s Fiscal Crisis Presentation
Ken Alper from the Alaska Department of Revenue will be in Petersburg to give a presentation on Alaska’s Fiscal Crisis on Friday, January 15th at 5pm at the Sons of Norway Hall. Representative Kreiss-Tomkins, and possibly Senator Stedman with the Borough’s lobbyist Mataishowski will be present to answer questions.
ASCP Meeting Change
We have to change our meeting time to tomorrow, Tuesday, at 8am in the PVOA office to accommodate winter travel weather and mechanicals. Everyone is welcome to join. The meeting will focus on proposed safety requirement for vessel 50′ or larger length overall and 25 years or older in 2020.
Alternate Safety Compliance Meeting
PVOA is holding a meeting with Scott Wilwert from USCG District 17 to look at the possible new safety requirements for the Alternate Safety Compliance Program concerning vessels 50′ or larger length overall and 25 years or older in 2020. Everyone is welcome to join us at the PVOA office at 1pm on Monday, January 11.
NPFMC December Newsletter
The NP Council December Newsletter is out. December’s decisions on the Charter Halibut RQE are summarized. This will be in an additional initial review tentatively set for April. The action would allow the charter sector to purchase halibut IFQ from 2c and 3a to be added to the guided recreational allocation and therefore loosen charter halibut management measures. The next review will look at transfer restrictions of 5 to 20% versus the 10 to 40% considered in December. The council doesn’t have jurisdiction over the funding source for the RQE, but can restrict the use of funds acquired by the proposed non-profit. Finally, alternative three changed from retiring latent charter permits to allowing the RQE to purchase and hold them. In December, the Council made their Charter Halibut recommendations Read more…
Dockside Exams
Steve Ramp will be in Petersburg to conduct dockside exams from February 6-10. They will also hold a meeting Monday, February 8th at 6pm in the Council Chambers to update us on regulation changes and answer questions.
2015 SOUTHEAST ALASKA DIRECTED PACIFIC COD FISHERY ANNOUNCEMENT
Sitka . . . The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) announced today that the directed fishery for Pacific cod will close in the waters of Icy Strait and Port Frederick at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, December 22, 2015. The closure area includes waters of the Northern Southeast Inside Subdistrict (NSEI) that are east of 136°00.00′ W. longitude and west of a line from Point Couverden to Point Augusta (Figure 1.). This includes all waters of statistical areas 355801 and 355802. The guideline harvest range for Pacific cod in the NSEI and SSEI Subdistricts combined is 750,000 – 1,250,000 round pounds. The department estimates that 270,000 round pounds of Pacific cod have been taken from the Icy Strait area during the 2015/2016 seasonal fishing period. This area is being closed Read more…