The governor’s office last week announced the inclusion of Southeast Alaska in the state’s request for a disaster declaration for the 2016 pink salmon fishery.
Made October 26, the announcement was in response to a letter jointly issued by Reps. Dan Ortiz (I-District 36) and Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (D-District 35) the previous week making the request. It follows a request in August made by Rep. Louise Stutes (R-District 32) for the state’s fishery due to the season’s poor returns.
Statewide the harvest was considered the worst in nearly half a century. Harvest data compiled by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game at the time of the letter’s issuance had indicated revenue for Southeast’s pink salmon fisheries had dropped by 36.1 percent from the five-year average. This falls within the eligibility threshold for disaster relief of 35 to 80 percent.
The letter notes the request for disaster relief funding will be given to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce for consideration, under dictates of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
Disaster assistance is administered by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries. Assistance is covered under two statutes, Magnuson-Stevens and the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act. In both cases a state governor or affected fishing community can request a fishery disaster determination by the Secretary of Commerce.
If the Secretary determines that a fishery disaster has occurred, participants in the fishery are eligible for disaster assistance subject to appropriation of funds by Congress. In past years, disasters for Alaskan fisheries have been determined, such as the extended snow crab fishery from 2000 to 2008, and most recently the Chinook salmon fishery from 2011 to 2012.
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