Southeast Alaska Fishermen’s Alliance (SEAFA) has submitted to the Board of Fish an emergency petition to change the pot shrimp season back to the fall based on a biologically allowable resource harvest would be precluded in 2022, creating a significant burden on the shrimp permit holders. We will post a copy of the petition on our website www.seafa.org or you can email us and request a copy.
The process for an emergency petition when the Board of Fish is not meeting within 30 days of receiving the petition is that the authority is delegated to the Commissioner to determine whether the merits of the request constitute an emergency. If the Dept determines the emergency petition justifies a finding of emergency, it will be scheduled for a special board meeting. The Commissioner has 30 days to consider, analyze and respond to the petition.
In addition, if two Board members request to hear the emergency petition a meeting will be scheduled regardless of the Dept analysis. You can monitor the Board of Fish website at http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fisheriesboard.meetinginfo (scroll down below the October 2022 work-session) to determine if a meeting has been scheduled (check often). Or alternatively, you can sign up to receive board of fish announcements via email, and by doing so would receive the announcement if a meeting is scheduled. We encourage you to submit comments on your thoughts between a fall or spring meeting date, market and biological considerations if a special board meeting is scheduled.