SEAFOODNEWS.COM by John Sackton — May 28, 2015 — Sen. Lisa Murkowski sent a letter to NOAA Assistant Administrator for Fisheries Eileen Sobeck protesting the decision to recuse two Alaskan Members of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.
“The recent Recusal Examination for the June 2015 NPFMC decision is particularly troubling. Of the eleven voting members of the NPFMC and the seven members who have been determined to be affected by the decision on BSAI halibut PSC limits, the only two required to recuse themselves from the vote are Mr. David Long and Mr. Simon Kinneen, two Alaskan members. With such an important final decision on the table, this creates an inequity and lack of representation of Alaskan interests. The Council, by nature, is comprised of many stakeholders in the fishery. The recusal of two Alaskans before such an important vote seems to damage the core structure of the process.”
Murkowski then went on to say that under Magnuson national standards, it was important to protect fishing communities, especially a community like St. Paul which has been exclusively dependent on fisheries since the federal government ended the fur seal harvest in the 1970’s.
This story originally appeared on Seafood.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.