Tag Archives: Doug Vincent-Lang
Canada, Alaska suspend fishing of Yukon River chinook salmon for 7 years
In a bid to help the recovery of the Yukon River chinook salmon run, the federal government and the State of Alaska have agreed to implement a seven-year moratorium on fishing the species. The suspension, in effect for one full life cycle of a salmon, includes commercial fishing and recreational angling in the Yukon River mainstem and its Canadian tributaries. Representatives from Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game signed the agreement on Monday. The number of chinook salmon crossing the international border into Canadian waters has for years plummeted, with the last two years yielding some of the worst tallies recorded on the Yukon River. more, >>click to read<< 09:06
Opinion: The tragic mismanagement of bycatch in Alaska
The commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish & Game’s recent opinion piece on bycatch would make for good comedy if the topic wasn’t so serious. Doug Vincent-Lang extolled the North Pacific Fishery Management Council’s handling of bycatch in trawl fisheries off the coast of Alaska. As examples, he mentioned existing bycatch caps for chinook salmon and halibut bycatch measures that are not yet in effect. Other than that, here are the council “actions” he espouses. The council, of which he is a key member, has “initiated an analysis” concerning caps on chum bycatch, is “considering further fishing restrictions” related to crab in the Bering Sea and is “evaluating whether further protections are needed” for Tanner crab in the Gulf. He also notes that the council “support(s) further research” into the causes of the declines in these seminal Alaska fisheries stocks. >>click to read<< 12:29
OPINION: North Pacific Fishery Management Council is acting to reduce bycatch
In a recent opinion piece, Brooke Woods, Linda Behnken and Nanci Morris Lyon stated, “Federal fisheries off Alaska are managed via the dictates of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC), which has done little to address the trawl fleet’s enormous bycatch of species immeasurably important to Alaskans.” Nothing could be further from the truth The council adopted hard caps for chinook salmon in the Bering Sea trawl pollock fisheries that vary depending upon the expected returns to western Alaska rivers. When expected returns are low, the caps are adjusted downward. Additionally, the fishing industry has stepped forward to implement chinook salmon avoidance measures that hold each vessel accountable for limiting bycatch to below the caps. In fact, the fleet is well below their caps, recognizing the need to rebuild these stocks. >>click to read<< 15:55
Doug Vincent-Lang
These are Alaska’s priorities for fishery management council
Based on discussions with a diverse range of user groups, delegations from our coastal communities, fishermen, processor representatives and other Alaskans, it is clear our fisheries are facing a number of challenges. These challenges include unprecedented declines in Bering Sea crab stocks and ongoing low harvestable levels of Pacific cod and other economically valuable stocks that are causing economic hardship for fishery participants and affected communities. We also heard ongoing concerns about the impacts of federal fisheries on key species like halibut, salmon, and crab. This input was valuable to better understand the issues and to identify priorities and potential solutions. >click to read< 16:01
ADF&G: Safe conduct of Alaska salmon fisheries is possible during coronavirus crisis
Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang said in an interview that he is certainly aware of the issues that could arise from holding spring and summer salmon fisheries that start next month as everyone also attempts to limit the spread of the disease, but he stressed state officials are drafting plans to provide extra protection to local residents and fisheries workers. He also noted that salmon is just one sector of the state’s diverse and year-round fishing industry. “I think people are wondering whether we’re going to have fisheries; I think they forget that we actually have a lot of fisheries in the water right now and we’re geared up to manage those,” Vincent-Lang said. >click to read< 13:07
ADF&G releases terms of new Pacific Salmon Treaty
A new Pacific Salmon Treaty negotiated between the United States and Canada, and critical to fisheries and the economy of Southeast Alaska, is now in effect for the decade ahead, as state and commercial harvester entities wrestle with how to deal with it. Acting Commissioner of Fish and Game Doug Vincent-Lang notes that his agency released the actual language of the negotiated terms, which were several years in the making, to allow affected users the opportunity to review them, “especially given that the terms adopt new metrics for management of fisheries in Southeast Alaska. This was done to improve transparency,” he said on Jan. 2.>click to read<20:08
Only one applicant for ADFG chief
Members of the boards of Fisheries and Game will meet jointly Jan. 16 to choose an applicant to forward to Gov. Michael J. Dunleavy for the commissioner’s seat, but it likely won’t be a long meeting with just one applicant. Doug Vincent-Lang, whom Dunleavy appointed as Acting Commissioner on Dec. 4, was the only person to submit an application to be the commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. He previously worked with the department from 1999–2014, last serving as the director of the Division of Wildlife Conservation.>click to read<20:48
Changing faces
New Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s appointments to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game are rocking a state agency unaccustomed to dramatic change. Gone is affable Commissioner of Fish and Game Sam Cotten, a one-time state legislator and former commercial fisherman in a land where the latter carries a certain cachet. In his place, pending approval by the Joint Boards of Fish and Game and the Alaska Legislature, is Doug Vincent-Lang, a biologist who spent most of his career working in sport fisheries, which some in the commercial fishing business consider an enemy. And along with Vincent-Lang comes a whole new cast of characters most notably including the former doyen of morning talk-radio in Alaska’s largest city, Rick Rydell – real name Rick Green. >click to read<14:56
