Awash in a sea of pollock

Late 1970s Early 1980s 30 year old graduate student + 20 years = NOAA administrator

North Pacific Fisheries Management Council Jim Balsiger: NMFS Alaska Regional Office Cora Campbell: Alaska Dept Fish and Game Bill Tweet: Wash Dept Fish and Wildlife Roy Elicker: Oregon Dept Fish and Wildlife Sam Cotton: former fisherman, former Dir. Commercial Fishing and Ag. Bank Craig Cross: Aleutian Spray Co. Ed Dershan: saltwater charter operator Duncan Fields: Kodiak fisherman John Henderschedt: Fisheries Forum, formerly of Premier Pacific, operator of the 626 ft Ocean Phoenix pollock processor Dan Hull: Fisherman Eric Olsen: Fisherman, Yukon Delta Fisheries Development Assn

NPFMC Technical Advisory Panel Fishermen/Industry 12 Charter boat operators 2 Fisheries Associations 2 Conservation Groups 2 CDQs 3

Seattle Times: “The United States’ richest fishery is controlled by a federal council so riddled with conflicts of interest that its actions result in millions of dollars in benefits to some council members or their companies....The council emerged in public view as a sort of Tammany Hall of the Pacific.” Ross Anderson of the Seattle Times: Congress in turn defers most of the decisions to a narrow-minded, politically loaded federal council, made up mostly of people who work for fishing companies that stand to make millions from those decisions.” Fisherman Dave Fraser: “The allocation [of pollock] is done by the council, which has proven itself incapable of disregarding its myriad political and economic conflicts.” Wally Pereyra, a council member: “The politics are so blatant it forces you as a protective measure to become part of the problem. It’s a corrupting process.” Dave Fraser: “People talk about the fox guarding the hen house. But what we’ve got here is a few roosters divvying up the hens.” The ethics instructions of NPFMC to council members: “With disclosure, you may fully participate as a Council member in a matter in which you have an interest in a harvesting, processing, lobbying, advocacy, or marketing activity.”

Why were the councils set up to favor the industry? In 1976, Bud Walsh working with Senator Warren Magnuson of Washington to write the FCMA and afterwards to set up the management councils said that the councils were established under the control of industry because of mistrust of scientists, who might set catch limits too low.

NMFS mission statement: the goal is to optimize the benefits of living marine resources to the Nation through sound science and management. This requires a balancing of multiple public needs and interests in the sustainable benefits and use of living marine resources, without compromising the long-term biological integrity of coastal and marine ecosystems.