Board Of Fisheries To Meet This Month To Discuss Finfish Regulations For Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim

The following is courtesy of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Board of Fisheries:

Alaska Board of Fisheries to meet in Anchorage for Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim Finfish and Supplemental Issues January 14–18, 2023:

The Alaska Board of Fisheries (board) will meet in Anchorage, to consider proposed regulatory changes to finfish management in the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim (AYK) management areas, January 14–18, 2022, at the Egan Civic and Convention Center located at 555 West 5th Avenue. During this 5-day public meeting, the board will consider 35 proposals regarding finfish issues for the AYK areas. Proposals have been submitted by the general public, fishing organizations, local Fish and Game Advisory Committees, and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The board will also consider three additional proposals (proposals 170, 171, and 172) that were accepted as Agenda Change Requests at the board’s October 2022 work session. All of these proposals can be found on the board’s website at http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fisheriesboard.proposalbook

All portions of the meeting are open to the public and a live video stream is intended to be available on the board’s website at www.boardoffisheries.adfg.alaska.gov.

In addition to submitting written public comments for the board’s consideration, the public is invited to give in-person oral testimony during the meeting, beginning on January 14. Any person intending to testify must sign up at the meeting site in Anchorage no later than 10:00 a.m. Saturday, January 15. Public testimony will continue until members of the public who signed up before the deadline and are present have been given an opportunity to testify.

All documents relating to this meeting, including the agenda, roadmap, agency reports, and public and advisory committee comments will be available on the meeting website at: http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fisheriesboard.meetinginfo&date=01-14-2023&meeting=anchorage or by contacting Boards Support Section at 907-465-4110. Documents submitted to the board during the meeting will be posted online throughout the meeting.

Written comments on specific proposals will be accepted during the meeting and can be submitted online through the meeting website provided directly above. Comments submitted during the meeting must not exceed 10 single-sided or 5 double-sided pages in length from any one individual or group. Once deliberations on specific proposals begins, the board will ONLY accept written public comments not more than five single-sided pages, or the equivalent double-sided pages. The board may relax this requirement if specific information is requested by the board requiring more pages than allowed under this standard. Individuals not in attendance can also submit written comments by fax to (907) 465-6094.

The Department of Fish and Game and the board are pleased this important meeting is open to the public. However, the COVID-19 virus still poses a serious risk to certain segments of the population, and could potentially halt the meeting. To help minimize the spread of COVID-19, any person who is experiencing flu-like symptoms is encouraged to stream the meeting online.

Learn More about the Board of Fisheries Process: The Boards Support Section will host a training course How to Navigate the Board Process followed by a question & answer session, to begin roughly ten minutes following the lunch adjournment in the main meeting room on the first day of the meeting (January 14, 2022). While the training is designed to help new participants to the board process, all are welcome to join.