CEO Van Vactor and Chairman Samuelson spoke of the need to keep more permits in the hands of Bristol Bay resident fishermen.
The House Fisheries Committee heard testimony Tuesday from Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation CEO Norm Van Vactor and Chairman Robin Samuelson. Both testified in support of finding ways to help keep permits in the hands of local fishermen. KDLG’s Dave Bendinger has more:
Audio transcript below ...
Van Vactor said it’s a statewide issue, but to put it into perspective he described the out-migration of Bristol Bay commercial fishing permits to the Committee. He says almost 44 percent of the permits originally issued to watershed residents have now left the Bay:
Bristol Bay residents now hold under 25 percent of all Bristol Bay permits. Originally 28 percent of all residents held one type of fishing permit or another. Today that number is less than 10 percent.
Van Vactor said some 62 percent of the permits that leave the Bay are sold. Another 25 percent are lost when permit holders move away from the watershed, and the rest are lost from foreclosures, revocations, and forfeitures.
Prior to taking the job at BBEDC, Van Vactor spent decades in the Bristol Bay processing industry. He told the committee he watched firsthand as the size of the local fleet grew smaller:
To cite just one community as an example, the community of New Stuyahok, I had at one time 44 fishing licenses and permits fishing for me. Today I believe that number is closer to eight, or possibly as low as six.
Van Vactor estimates the fishery loses approximately 15 resident permits per year, which BBEDC is actively working to stop.
In 2014, the year just completed, we had what I can best describe as seven 'saves', our best year yet. That said, until that number is 15 or higher, we aren't even breaking even.
BBEDC Board Chair Robin Samuelson told the committee he sees a future where 90 percent of Bristol Bay permits will be held by outside fishermen, and that will have a profound impact on local economies:
We're losing million and millions, hundreds of millions of dollars, by these folks coming up, fishing our resource, and taking that money back to their respective communities.
What exactly can be done about the out-migration of permits wasn’t offered at Tuesday’s meeting. Van Vactor did say one promising idea is a community permit bank, which is being discussed but is still in its infancy.
The future of Alaska’s Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission itself is somewhat uncertain. House Bill 112, sponsored by Rep. Louise Stutes, who chairs the House Fisheries Committee, would repeal CFEC and assign its duties to the Dept. of Fish and Game and the Office of Administrative Hearings. Stutes says that move would streamline permitting and save the state money, but it’s not clear if it would help stem the tide of out-migrating permits. HB 112 will be in front of the Fisheries Committee this Thursday.
On Tuesday the Committee also put questions to Fish and Game Commissioner-designee Sam Cotten, and quickly advanced his confirmation to a later joint session of the House and Senate.