Tag Archives: Fish and Game Commissioner Sam Cotten
Copper River disaster
This is a developing story – No one seems to have any idea what sort of astronomical price a rare and iconic Copper River king salmon from Alaska might demand when the commercial fishing season opens in about a week – if there are any fish to be sold. The Alaska Board of Fisheries is facing an emergency petition to ban the sale of the big fish in the name of conservation. Alaska subsistence fishermen who are supposed to have a fishing priority but have already been told they will be restricted to a limit of two kings each for the entire season are talking about the possibility of a lawsuit if the state allows the commercial king fishery to open. And even if the start of the fishery proceeds as scheduled on May 18, the opening day catch is expected to be no more than a few hundred fish, if that, given that the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has already ordered the closure of fishing areas where most kings are caught. click here to read the article. 09:45
Walker administration says loophole costs $1.4M in taxes from some of the big Washington-based factory trawlers
Gov. Bill Walker’s proposed fish tax increase has drawn attention to a loophole giving a discount of as much as $1.4 million a year to some of the big Washington-based factory trawlers that fish off Alaska’s coast — and Walker’s administration is working to fix it. Price estimates used by the state to assess existing taxes on 300 million pounds of yellowfin sole are less than one-sixth of the true prices upon which the taxes are supposed to be based, according to officials at the state Fish and Game department. Four other types of fish have also been discounted, some drastically, the department says, while one has been overvalued. Read the rest here 00:11
