> '. .j/0/ct REPORT TO THE ALASKA I LEGISLATURE Quyu'mta Ikayurluki Nunamta Yui (United to Help the People of Our Land) * SUBMITTED BY JOSEPH A. MALATESTA SR. BOX 318 CLAM GULCH, ALASKA 99568 907-567-3419 * Quote from a Federal Public Information release. TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION II. WRITER'S DISCLOSURE III. HISTORY OF THE COOK INLET COMMERCIAL FISHING FAMILIES RELIANCE ON FISHING AS A LIVELIHOOD. VI. COOK INLET COMMERCIAL FISHERIES DOCUMENTATION V. PENINSULA CLARION ARTICLE ON UNEMPLOYMENT RATE VI. HABITAT ISSUE INCLUDING PHOTOGRAPHS V II. FISH BOARD PROCESS AS SEEN BY THIS WRITER V III. LETTER TO BOARD OF FISH FROM CENTRAL PENINSULA FISH AND GAME ADVISORY COMMITIEE. IX. RESOLUTIONS BY THE NATIVE COMMUNITY X RESOLUTIONS BY THE CITY OF KENAI XI. RESOLUTION OF THE KENAI BOROUGH ASSEMBLY XII. RESOLUTION OF KENAI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE X III. RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF HOMER XIV. CONCLUSION INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION TO RESULTS FROM ALSAKA BOARD OF FISH ACTION INI COOK INLET Alaska residents hold 1013 Cook Inlet Limited Entry Commerciall Fishing Permits. The permits consist of both Drift Gillnet and Set Gillnet with approximately 250 woman permit holders. There is another additional 311 permits registered to non residents. These fishers have historically had fishing time taken away from them. They used to be able to fish from early May through December. At the present time their fishing time has been reduced by regulation to approximately eight to twelve regular fishing periods in 1998. Twenty to thirty percent of their incomes have been taken away from them by the present day Fish Board. In short their family businesses have been destroyed for absolutely no biological reason whatsoever. The present day Fish Board has had to disguise their reallocation of the resource behind conservation concerns when the State's own Biological Staff reported that there are no biological concerns. The reallocation of this resource is not going to benefit the citizens 01: Alaska in general, it will only benefit a very small select group. The present day Fish Board has gutted the 1978 Upper Cook Inlet Management Plan to satisfy the select few. Their rewrite of this: plan will only cause harm to the HABITAT as well as displacing thousands of local residents. This report is for the Legislature of the State of Alaska inorder for them to review, so they can acquire some insight regarding the' problems that have been developed by the present Alaska Board of Fish. With oil prices falling and oil reserves diminishing, Alaskans are asking this Legislature to protect a very valuable and viable industry that has been in existence long before Statehood. The local communities depend on this industry to help fuel the local economies through the long hard Alaskan winters. The Kenai Peninsula has already suffered from lost jobs and job opportunities as a result of falling oil prices. State of Alaska and the local communities can not afford more job losses and the local commercial fishing families can not afford a twenty to thirty percent income loss. DISCLOSURE HISTORY OF THE COOK INLET COMMERCIAL FISHING FAMILIES RELIANCE ON FISHING AS A LIVELIHOOD For as long as one can remember, Cook Inlet has been the carrying waters for many species of wildlife. These renewable resources have been the way of life and the means of livelihood for Alaskan commercial fishing families, long before Statehood. The generations of commercial fishing families are comprised of families that migrated here from allover Alaska as well as allover the United States, including from all parts of the world. There were no roadways to speak of and no super stores or tourists. These early pioneers endured the rough and rugged way of life that the last wild frontier required. This chosen way of living and their chosen way of raising their families must continue for generations to come. The Native Community and non Native Community have lived in and on the Kenai Peninsula in harmony since well before Statehood and together they have built what we know today as the Kenai Peninsula. Our Native brothers and sisters have taught the local pioneers the importance of preserving our natural renewable resources and together the Native Elders and the Pioneer Elders have passed those teachings and responsibilities on to generation after generations of their offspring. Together they have created a balance that has protected the resource and habitat along with protecting their chosen way of life and the means to support themselves. The Kenai and the Kasilof Rivers have been the main habitat that has supported the renewable salmon resource as well as the habitat for other renewable fish stocks. There are many rivers that contribute towards this balance but the Kenai and the Kasilof are the focus of this report. These rivers are now being threatened by man and regulation to satisfy the greed of a few financially influential individuals. It is the same financially influential who have done absolutely nothing to contribute to the financial stability of the communities that surround these rivers. It is the same men and regulation that is also threatening a way of life and a means of livelihood for the traditional commercial fishing families. Most of all these men and their regulations are destroying the habitat that many Kenai Peninsula resident rely on for a means of livelihood and a preservation of their chosen way of life. The habitat shall be addressed within this report in another section. The Alaskan Legislature needs to examine the true Alaskan Constitutional Intent regarding the issues that led to what we knoW' today as the Commercial Fishing Limited Entry System. There seems to be no arguments against the fact that the State limited entry into a fishery for the purposes of RESOURCE CONSERVATION, to PREVENT ECONOMIC DISTRESS among fisherman and those DEPENDENT upon them for a LIVELIHOOD and to promote the efficient development 01: aquaculture in the State. The framers of the State Constitution realized that Alaska communities such as the Kenai Peninsula were! dependent upon Commercial Fishing and that the money generated by that industry was a necessity for the life blood of the communities within the Peninsula. Please examine closely the fallout of removing the ability to make 81 living in our communities. From 1994 through 1998, there was a total of 1316 to 1324 limited entry permits that participated in the summer salmon fisheries in Cook Inlet. To simplify the message, just divide the total amount of permits by the value of the catch. This simplified math equation will allow yOLi to quantify the dollar amount each permit would have averaged for the past five years. The purpose of this calculation is to come up with some dollar amount that stays within the communities. PleasE! take note that the average income number fluctuates with fish stock returns, catches and price differentials. This method is a quick way to examine the importance to the local communities and local families. The incomes of these local commercial fishing families vary with individuals and these incomes have been sufficient enough to support their existence in Alaska. Average income per permit: 1994 $26,180.29 times Five = $130,901.45 1995 $16,741.40 = $ 83,707.00 1996 $22,390.44 = $111,952.20 1997 $24,430.19 = $122,150.95 1998 $ 7,202.64 = $ 36,013.20 Over the years the State of Alaska and the Kenai Borough have introduced reports to the public that explain that the income! generated on the Kenai Peninsula changes hands approximately five! to seven times before it leaves the community. These calculations have been used in the past to determine the impact local-generated commercial fishing income has on a given community. Out of the 1324 total limited entry permits that utilize this resource for their families main income, 1013 live in the community all year long. They send their children to school here, spend their income here, and worship here. Out of 1013 permits approximatel~' 250 permits are owned by women. These permits generate approximately 4,000 crew persons. The 11 plus local fish processors generate approximately another 2500 plus employees. The support industry such as trucking, vessel equipment repair businesses, engine sales and repair businesses, gear sales and gear repair busi nesses, Certi'fied Public Accou ntants, Acco untants" groceries stores, etc., generate approximately 4000 employees. We can safely state that the commercial fishing industry supports itself and generates a substantial income base for the communities" Take these dollars away from the local communities and it will result in local businesses being forced to close their doors and boarcl their windows shut. Our community is stricken with one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation. Our reported unemployment averages 15.4% in the winter months. In addition we must add to the unemployment figures the percent of the population that does not qualify for unemployment compensation. Self employed commercial fishers ar€~ one species of non recipients of workers unemployment compensation and are not enumerated on state statistical data base. At the last Fish Board Hearing in Soldotna this economic distress message was delivered by the community including some of our locall representatives, such as Kenai Borough Assemblyman Jack Brown. Unfortunately that message was delivered to deaf ears. The Kenai Borough Assembly, and the City of Kenai and Homer passedl resolutions regarding the Board's decisions. Local seafood processors delivered the message that they have no problems selling Alaska wild fish stocks. They went on to further state they need to be assured of a sufficient commercial harvest -percentage that willi sustain their industry. They also explained that they need a stable, viable commercial fishery to get financed prior to the season.