My Turn: Commercial use versus personal use in question
I read Tom Dawson's My Turn in the Dec. 22 issue of the Empire with a certain amount of incredulity. Mr. Dawson has defined "commercial" fishermen as those who harvest massive quantities of the halibut resource with longlines. He denies that those who sell charters to sport fishermen are in fact "commercial" fishermen, because the charter crews do not sportfish while their clients are on board.
Regardless, let me say that as commercial fishing goes, I am much more in favor of the sport charter-type usage, which brings in high value per fish and has low barriers to entry, than I am the big factory commercial guys who regularly rape the resource. Still, the charter guys are people who make a living selling the halibut resource rather than eating it themselves. Those who sell the resource rather than eat it, however they accomplish that, are in fact "commercial" fishermen, period. "Commercial charter" fishermen if you will.
I am just a lowly Alaskan citizen who, like many others, sportfishes for halibut from my own small boat, partly for fun, and largely to stock my freezer to feed my family. Let's call folks like me "personal-use" fishermen, a novel term no doubt. You know us; we're the folks that the state constitution says have primary use and ownership of the resource. Last summer I didn't do very well at halibut fishing, although I usually do OK.
Let me tell you why I think I didn't get my usual fish. Like most personal-use fishermen, my small boat has limited range and seaworthiness, so I must fish within a reasonable distance of the harbor, only in fair weather, and of course, only when I have a day off from my job. Every single one of the perhaps dozen times I had the opportunity to go out for halibut last summer, wherever I went, there were one or more charter boats competing with me for the resource, sitting right on top of the hill, with five or six poles per boat in the water, happily hauling out large halibut. They are out there doing that almost every single day, with highly sophisticated boats and equipment, paid for by their "non-commercial" fishing activity. Over the last few years, it seems their numbers have increased. At least I seem to see them more often now.
With the price of gas, they may be moving in closer to town, I used to see them mostly out in Icy Strait. We personal-use folks, who also have to buy gas and pay for a boat, must compete with them, as well as each other of course. Somehow, their charter activity needs to be brought back into line. To make matters worse, the last time I went out, in late August, there were three longliners on and near my favorite spot, parallel to each other. I watched in disgust as they stripped the bottom clean, pulling in one large fish after another. I caught zero, not a nibble. Mind you, this was 10 miles or so from Amalga Harbor, not way out in the ocean. The ocean is big, and the commercial and charter guys have the equipment and wherewithal to exploit it.
Juneau has grown, and so has the sport and commercial pressure on the resource. I would like to ask the Alaska Department of Fish and Game or the Legislature to consider adjusting the restricted zone around Juneau so personal-use fishermen, not the charter or other commercial guys, have a priority zone where we have a fighting chance to get a little food. I suggest a 20-mile zone around each of Juneau's harbors. I also suggest that a "donut" be created for the next 10 to 15 miles or so beyond the personal-use zone, where charter fishing is allowed, but not long lining. That should keep their industry healthy. Permit and quota the rest of the ocean for the commercial use as needed to manage the fishery. Oh, and make those permits temporary and non-transferable while you're at it.
• Juneau resident Chuck Greeson is an assistant professor of computer information systems at the University of Alaska Southeast and a personal-use fisherman.