Fishermen’s EXPO
2024 Fishermen’s Expo is Almost Here
The Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA) and the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust (ASFT) are hosting a Hybrid Fishermen’s Expo on April 24, from 9AM-5PM to provide educational workshops and training to new and experienced local fishermen as well as others with interest in the fishing sector. Attendees have the option of attending virtually, through Zoom or in-person at the NRSAA Conference Room in Sitka.
Commercial and subsistence fishermen of all gear types will have the opportunity to attend free and interactive classes on SEAK sablefish industry meeting updates, Deckhand Logbook new features and updates, ocean acidification, the ALFA crew training program, Fishery Friendly Climate Action, AMSEA’s Project Gabe and more. Presenters include Rhea Ehresmann, Groundfish Project Leader with ADF&G and Dan Goethel with NOAA, Lange Solberg with Deckhand Logbook, Denise Damewood with Project Gabe, Darcy Dugan with the OA Network, Kinsey Brown with the Fishery Friendly Climate Action, and Natalie Sattler and Eric Jordan with Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association. Attendees are welcome to participate in as many sessions as they are able.
Please reach out to Natalie Sattler at program.director@alfafish.org or 907-738-1286 with any questions. All presentations will provide time for questions and discussion.
Click here to register via Zoom.
2024 Expo Schedule
8:45AM Welcome
9:00AM SE AK Sablefish Industry Meeting Updates - Rhea Ehresmann, Jan Rumble, and Phil Joy (ADF&G) and Dan Goethel (NOAA)
12:00PM Wild Fish Conservancy Lawsuit update - Rio Barkhau
12:05PM Halibut Lawsuit Update - Linda Behnken
12:15PM Deckhand Logbook Updates - Lange Solberg
1:00PM The Alaska Ocean Acidification Network Updates - Darcy Dugan
2:00PM AMSEA’s Project Gabe - Denise Damewood
3:00PM Fishery Friendly Climate Action Update - Kinsey Brown
3:30PM Commercial Fishing Safety Advisory Committee Update - Jerry Dzugan
4:00PM ALFA’s Crew Training Program - Eric Jordan and Natalie Sattler
4:30PM AK Rug Company (Fishing Gear repurposing) - Jen Luton
5:00PMPM Closing/Raffle Prizes
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ALFA has a long history of providing educational opportunities to fishermen, both new and experienced. Whether by helping fishermen to choose equipment that is more fuel efficient, teaching them about the political process, or teaching them about new tools and software like bathymetric mapping, ALFA works hard to keep fishermen in the know about the policies that affect them and innovations that can help them to use best practices and fish more effectively.
ALFA and the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust banded together to host the first ever Fishermen's Expos in 2016, which offered workshops on topics such as fuel efficiency, fishing for sablefish using pot gear, and reducing sperm whale depredation on longline gear. Since then, the expo has evolved to focus especially on young people and those who are new to the industry by offering workshops focusing on business skills, beginner's courses in seafloor mapping, and safety courses.