January 15, 2014 — The 300 driftnetters that belong to United Cook Inlet Drift Associaion, or UCIDA , say the state’s current Cook Inlet salmon management plan violates the Magnuson Stevens Act, and they are suing.
The suit was filed by UCIDA just a year ago in federal district court in Washington DC. It challenges the validity of Amendment 12 of the Fisheries Management Plan [FMP] for salmon fisheries in the federal Exclusive Economic Zone [EEZ] off the coast of Alaska. Amendment 12 essentially eliminates the EEZ waters in three areas of Alaska: in Prince William Sound, Cook Inlet and the western end of the Alaska Peninsula.
Dr. Roland Maw heads Soldotna – based UCIDA
“Half the area where we fish is in the federal EEZ. These are in federal waters and they are federally owned fish at that point. And, as such, we felt that the federal government has a piece of legislation called Magnuson Stevens Act that has certain requirements concerning the biology and management of those stocks. “
The state of Alaska has intervened in the suit, on the side of the defendants, because Amendment 12 removes federal oversight from the three areas and allows the state to manage salmon in those areas as it has since statehood. Cora Campbell is commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and testified Tuesday at a finance subcommittee hearing on the issue in Anchorage.
Read the full story and listen to the audio from Alaska Public Media