Fraser River Sockeye Fisheries and Fisheries Management - Cohen ...

ManagementManagement Authority and Escapement Goal ManagementUltimate management authority for salmon fisheries in Alaska rests with theCommissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G). ADF&G’smanagement objectives include: managing for sustained yield (largely accomplished byadhering to escapement goals); maintaining genetic diversity and overall health of theescapement; providing for an orderly fishery; helping to ensure high quality fisheryproducts; and harvesting fish consistent with regulatory management plans. (For theregulatory management plans, See 5 AAC 06.355: Bristol Bay commercial set and driftgillnet sockeye salmon fisheries management and allocation plan.) Regulations andregulatory management plans are established through a public process via the AlaskaBoard of Fisheries (BOF). The seven members comprising the BOF are appointed byAlaska’s governor and serve staggered 3-year terms. The BOF addresses each region’sfishery (e.g., Bristol Bay) once in a 3-year cycle, but has mechanisms to addressemergency regulatory needs on an annual basis for all regions. Management plans aredesigned to promote conservation of fishery resources and specify allocations of fish todistinct groups of harvesters. When the BOF implements allocation regulations or policy,ADF&G has the responsibility to manage under these regulations, while attempting toachieve the other management objectives. However, the regulations specify thatADF&G’s highest priority is to obtain escapement goals and maintain genetic diversity ofthe escapement (See 5 AAC 06.355 (c)(1)). When conservation concerns arise,management plans often set out how ADF&G should strive to address such concernsamid allocation issues.Salmon fisheries in Alaska, including Bristol Bay, are somewhat unique compared toother jurisdictions in that the Commissioner of ADF&G delegates full managementauthority to open the fishery to local Area Management Biologists (AMBs). AMBsinteract daily with stakeholders in the region while monitoring the performance of thefishery and developing run. AMBs issue “Emergency Orders” (EOs) to open fisheries forspecified times and locations and must justify each EO in a written narrative. AMBscannot regulate the number of participants in a given fishery or season as this access isregulated by a limited entry system, and ultimately, by the state’s constitution. The BOFstipulates fishing gear and allocation plans and AMBs control time, area, and gearopenings to reach management plan and escapement goal objectives. This decentralized138