Alaska Salmon Alliance Reponse to Anti-Setnet Ballot Initiative

From the Alaska Salmon Alliance Facebook page:

The recent efforts by Bob Penney and the Alaska Fisheries Conservation Alliance Inc. to eliminate by ballot initiative five “urban” setnet fleets have drawn much attention over the last 48 hours. Unfortunately, this newest push to eliminate one fishery for the benefit of another is not a new song in Penney’s repertoire; rather, it is just the latest assault on a fishery that has existed in Cook Inlet and elsewhere in Alaska for generations. Focusing in on Cook Inlet, setnetters have been under fire for their harvest of King salmon, a take their permits legally allow. Using fallacious arguments and gross generalizations, Penney and his group wants you to think about setnetting as a “wall of death” for salmon as they return to spawn in Cook Inlet streams. A recent article from the Anchorage Daily News quotes Cook Inlet area biologist Pat Shields as saying the area setnet fleet takes about 13% of Kenai River kings, hardly the slaughter Penney would have you believe.

There is no argument that King conservation is and should be a priority, but this ballot initiative effort actually works against conservation efforts for several reasons:

– By hiding behind the guise of “conservation”, Penney demeans the efforts of those who really are looking for ways for ALL user groups to participate in habitat and population conservation efforts.

– Managing fishing fleets by ballot initiative effectively removes any science or best management practices from fisheries management, instead putting public opinion (and all those who would seek to influence it) behind the wheel. We Alaskans know that politics have no place in how we manage our natural resources, and that sound science-based policy is the only responsible option. Penney’s group, by hiding behind the conservation concept, make a mockery of fisheries policy and the process already in place to determine access and allocation of salmon to user groups.

– Cook Inlet hosts a unique and bountiful mixed-stock run. With millions of Sockeye returning to Cook Inlet rivers every year, it is important that Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) managers have many tools in their management toolbox by which to management escapement and allow fish through to the northern districts of Cook Inlet. If there Cook Inlet setnet fleets were to be eliminated, ADF&G would have only the Cook Inlet drift fleet by which to harvest millions of fish, potentially increasing their impact on fish bound for MatSu streams.

– Consider the tremendous amount of financial resources that will go into the advertising in attempt to sway Alaskans to consider this poorly conceived ballot measure. Then, consider all the resources that will go into fighting against it! Imagine all the other real conservation efforts those funds could support. We have many other questions we could be addressing, such as the effects of turbidity on river water quality riparian habitat damage from bank erosion, catch-and-release and marine environment mortality; the list goes on and on. There is no shortage of better ways we could be spending our collective time, energy, and money in making our fisheries more sustainable. This ballot initiative effort is not one of them.

Clearly, Penney’s effort to eliminate Cook Inlet and other “urban” setnet fleets promotes conflict, contributes to the imbalance of current conservation strategies in management, and attempts to circumvent any science-based approach to fisheries management or dialogue. The Alaska Salmon Alliance finds this effort to be a tremendous waste of money, time, and an insult to the legacy of sustainable fisheries in Alaska. Does Alaska have an ongoing problem with King salmon returns? Absolutely. Is this reckless effort the solution? Absolutely not.

Join the Alaska Salmon Alliance in working against this exclusive, political effort to undermine Alaska’s fishing families and communities. You can help us by:

1. Calling your local legislator and tell them how important setnetting is to you and your family. Inform them that King conservation is important to everyone and eliminating setnets in Cook Inlet will not solve the problem of low King returns.
2. Advocating publicly for inclusive, science-based fisheries management. Resource management by ballot initiative takes science out of the equation and replaces it with public opinion. This is a dangerous precedent to set for managing Alaska’s fisheries resources.
3. If you are approached to sign a signature petition to put this issue on the ballot, refuse. If you receive a phone call asking your opinion on this issue, tell them you support setnetting and science-based fisheries management in Alaska and end the call.

The Alaska Salmon Alliance believes in promoting sustainable fisheries in Cook Inlet and Alaska through education, science-based management, and inclusive dialogue and participation by ALL user groups.

#StoptheFishWars

#ScienceNotSlander