Tag Archives: Federal Shutdown
It ain’t lookin’ good. Federal shutdown could keep crab fishermen on the docks
Alaska’s crab fisheries could be a casualty of the government shutdown. All crab seasons officially open Oct. 15, but as of Oct. 8, the National Marine Fisheries Service did not have the staff to issue permits before the season started. NMFS is not responsible for the Community Development Quota fisheries, however, and in its announcements ADFG has said that those fisheries will open as scheduled. more@alaskajournal 13:40
Audio – Federal Shutdown Could Delay Crab Fisheries – NMFS’ law enforcement division is one of the few departments that’s still open.
State managers set catch limits. But the National Marine Fisheries Service is supposed to divide up the crab and assign individual fishing quotas, or IFQs, to boats. “There’s nobody on staff with National Marine Fisheries Service [who is] available to issue IFQs as they are furloughed,” says Heather Fitch. more@alaskapublic 21:14
