February 20, 2014 — The United Fishermen of Alaska are trying to revive the legislative discussion in Juneau about the vessel-based scallop limited entry program as managers and participants prepare for the new open access state-waters fishery that will open July 1.
In a Feb. 16 email, UFA Executive Director Julianne Curry wrote to members of the legislature that extending the limited entry program for scallops was a priority for UFA.
Curry cited economic concerns for the fleet, and sustainability issues in the fisheries, as reasons for continuing the program in her emails to the Legislature and to UFA board members.
Scallops are fished with dredges in Alaskan waters and many of the scallop beds cross the three-mile line that divides state and federal waters.
Previously, the fishery was managed jointly by state and federal entities.
This summer, the state-waters scallop fishery is slated to become open-access for the first time in just more than a decade after the previous vessel-based limited entry program was not renewed by the Legislature during the 2013 session due to concerns over consolidation.
The scallop fishery was the only vessel-based limited entry program in the state until the program expired Dec. 31, 2013.
Curry wrote in an email to the Journal that if the Legislature allowed one limited entry program to expire, it could set a precedent that would concern permit holders in other fisheries.
Last year, UFA passed a resolution supporting the program’s extension.
Read the full story at the Alaska Journal of Commerce