Far too much of our fishery management is being driven by allocation battles in our most contentious fisheries, instead of by sound science and pertinent information. In reviewing proposals for particular fisheries, the Board is often asked to address allocation disputes among various user groups or to react to a sudden and unexpected conservation concern. With a great deal of impassioned testimony on all sides of the issue and no better than anecdotal information on which to base their decisions, it is nearly impossible to resolve these issues. Lack of specific scientific information brings the same issues back before the board year after year. This bill mandates discrete salmon stock assessment that will allow the board to target research on stocks and fisheries for which they most need the information.
Decisions supported by sound science are much more likely to be accepted by the user groups.
I urge your support for this measure. A great deal of controversy and total lack of consensus has surrounded the allocation of Alaska's salmon stocks. These allocative battles have left all user groups unsatisfied and have been to the detriment of the sustained yield of some population segments, and to the genetic diversity of the overall population. Current salmon management centers around heavy exploitation of mixed stock fisheries and disregards the negative effects this policy has on discrete stocks of all salmon species. Not until we recognize the importance of implementing a management plan for discrete salmon stocks, based on the necessary information, can we fulfill our constitutional obligation to preserve the sustained yield of all stocks of the resource.