Proposed Fish Refuge for Bristol Bay

When the Alaska Board of Fisheries next takes up proposals related to Bristol Bay they will have to address some very controversial proposals ranging from eliminating the 32 foot length limit for drift vessels to requiring set-net operators to remove their gear during closed periods. One of the proposals sure to provoke some comments and testimony is number 13. It basically asks the Board of Fisheries to support the concept of establishing a fish refuge in Bristol Bay. Many times in the proposal the authors reference the proposed Jay Hammond State Game Refuge. That refuge was the subject of a bill introduced to the State Legislature a couple of years ago by State Senator Gary Stevens from Kodiak. It was referred to the Senate Resources committee and never heard from again. What the authors of proposal 13 want is a refuge that would augment the protection of fish habitat in the Kvichak and Nushagak River drainages. At the heart of the proposal are concerns that the proposed Pebble Mine or other such mines in the area would have a negative impact on the salmon resource that has made Bristol Bay famous. One of the proposals sponsors is Norm Van Vactor, who’s the plant manager for the Leader Creek Fisheries facility in Naknek. He said, “We are at the conclusion of the 2009 sockeye salmon run and once again Mother Nature has demonstrated what a tremendous and rich resource we have available to us. The question that one just needs to ask is why put that at risk. It has provided for the people of this region and elsewhere a wonderful protein source for hundreds of thousands of years and if properly managed and taken care of it will continue to do that. We have an awful lot going for us and we think that should be maintained and protected. One of the wonderful treasures of the world should not be put in jeopardy”. When proposal 13 hits the table during the December Board of Fisheries meeting it will not be the first time such a proposal has been brought up. In March of 2007 a proposal to create a fish refuge encompassing the Nushagak and Kvichak River Drainages was before the Board but at that time they chose to take no action on the proposal. Another sponsor of proposal 13 is Izetta Chambers, who’s the managing member of Naknek Family Fisheries. She agrees that hard rock mining is the number 1 threat to the salmon resource in the Kvichak and Nushagak River Drainages. Chambers believes that out-going Alaska Governor Sara Palin has flopped on her promise to protect Bristol Bay. During an interview Monday morning she said, “I think she was disingenuous when she came out and said she would not sacrifice one resource for another because that’s effectively what she has advocated. When she was on campaign trail with Senator McCain there were several rallies when she said drill baby drill and mine baby mine. I never heard her say lets protect our fish. I think she lied to the Alaskan people”. Other sponsors of proposal 13 include the Alaska Sportsman’s Lodge and the Curyung Tribal Council. The Alaska Board of Fisheries Bristol Bay meeting will be held in Anchorage from December 1st through the 8th though many Bristol Bay residents are still confident they can get the meeting moved to a location in either Naknek or Dillingham. The deadline to comment on proposals is November 17th. You can find all of the proposals submitted to the Board of Fisheries on the Alaska Department of Fish and Game website.