ALFA Seeks Applicants for Deckhand Apprenticeship Program

Photo: Eric Jordan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 8th 2018

Local Fishing Group Seeks Applicants for Deckhand Apprenticeship Program

The Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA), a Sitka-based fishing group, is seeking applicants for its budding Crewmember Apprenticeship Program. Through a safe and well-guided entry level experience, the program aims to provide young people an opportunity to gain experience in, as well as an understanding of, commercial fishing and its importance to supporting coastal communities

In late 2017, ALFA was awarded a $70,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to expand this program in Sitka and support efforts to launch similar programs in other parts of the state. The grant, leveraged with support from the City of Sitka and ALFA members, was awarded as part of NFWF’s Fisheries Innovation Fund. According to NFWF, “the work funded by these grants will result in improved management that strengthens the welfare of fishermen and local communities, promoting healthy fish stocks and healthy fisheries.”

Over the past three years, Sitka-based fisherman Eric Jordan of the F/V I Gotta has introduced over 40 young people to commercial fishing as part of the program. On the water, Jordan teaches his deckhands the intricacies of commercial salmon trolling while demonstrating sustainable fishing practices and encouraging a strong conservation ethic. 

“The future of our fisheries is dependent on young fishermen learning to love and care for the fish we harvest and the habitat essential to their well being,” said Jordan. “Our generation’s legacy will be defined how we, as Alaskan fishermen, rebuilt and enhanced our fisheries, and how we mentored the next generation.”

According to “Turning the Tide”, a report recently publicized by SeaGrant, North Pacific Research Board, and the Alaska Marine Conservation Council about the “graying” Alaskan fleet, deckhand apprenticeships are recommended as one way to attract younger entrants into an industry where the average age is over 50. Over the next two years, ALFA plans to expand its program to include more vessels, skippers, and crewmembers. ALFA will take lessons learned and help other communities replicate its model.

"With support from NFWF, we plan to expand the program to include more boats, crew, and communities," says Linda Behnken, Executive Director of ALFA. "Giving young people an introduction to Alaska's commercial fisheries will help sustain our fishing communities and create the next generation of resource stewards."

For now, the organization is seeking deckhand applicants to head out fishing this season.  Crewmember applications close on March 1st, 2018. Applicants must be over 18 years of age. Application information can be found at http://www.alfafish.org/apprenticeship/

Questions? Contact Alyssa at alfa.outreach@gmail.com

ALFA Receives Grant to Improve Longline EM Program

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Kingfisher Foundation announced a third-year round of funding for the Electronic Monitoring and Reporting Grant Program projects, awarding a total of more than $3.59 million in grants.

The 12 awards announced generated $3.15 million in match from the grantees, providing a total conservation impact of more than $6.75 million. The Electronic Monitoring and Reporting Grant Program seeks to catalyze the implementation of electronic technologies in U.S. fisheries in order to systematically integrate technology into fisheries data collection and modernized data management systems for improved fisheries management.

ALFA was awarded a NFWF Award Amount of $577,959, with Matching Funds of $600,000 for a grand total amount of $1,177,959. ALFA will improve Alaska’s longline electronic monitoring program for vessels participating in sablefish, halibut and Pacific cod fixed gear fisheries by providing electronic monitoring hardware, field service support for vessels, and support for stakeholder engagement. The project will result in electronic monitoring of up to 120 hook and line vessels that will reduce bycatch and improve the utility of electronic monitoring data for fishermen and fishery managers.

Read more here. 

ALFA Meeting January 12th

The Alaska Longline Fishermen's Association (ALFA) will hold a meeting on Friday, January 12th from 4-6 PM at the Sitka Sound Science Center's Karsch Classroom. 

The agenda will include a discussion of halibut stocks and catch limits, regulatory proposals, a new harvest policy for the IPHC, and 2018 Board of Fisheries finfish proposals. 

The meeting is open to the public. New members welcome! Light refreshments will be provided. 

Questions?  Call Linda at 907-738-3615

New IPHC Website launched

A letter from David T. Wilson, Ph.D. Executive Director, IPHC: 

I am pleased to announce that the IPHC Secretariat launched our new website on Friday, 15 December 2017: http://iphc.int/.

The new website is the culmination of a year long project by IPHC Secretariat staff which commenced on 15 September 2016, when the IPHC Secretariat chartered a website improvement team with members from the Seattle-based staff. The team’s focus was on improving the distribution of public domain information.

In November 2016, support for the team’s efforts were enhanced by ensuring funding was available to hire a professional website designer. In February 2017, the IPHC Secretariat entered into a partnership with Efelle Creative to redesign our website. Immediately after entering into the partnership with Efelle Creative, the team worked on the new website design for five months. In addition to the new design, the Seattle-based staff went through a full review of website content prior to publishing on our new website.

Our new website has five categories of content which include ‘The Commission, Science and Research, Fisheries, Data, Meetings, and Documents’. The Meetings section of our website contains all the information about the Commission and its subsidiary body meetings including meeting documents, agenda, schedule, and registration links. Additionally, IPHC publications, meeting documents, and reports can be found and downloaded from the Documents section of the website. The Seattle-based staff will continue to develop different ways to publish data and statistics for our stakeholders. This is evident through our interactive maps and our online fishery-independent setline survey data query. Areas we are still developing will be indicated on the website as such.

Yours sincerely

David T. Wilson, Ph.D. Executive Director, IPHC

Behnken chosen to be part of statewide climate action team

December 12, 2017 JUNEAU — Governor Bill Walker today appointed the 15 public members and five exofficio members of the Climate Action for Alaska Leadership Team, established in October by Administrative Order 289. Governor Walker announced the team following an extensive internal review of nearly 100 applications. The team will focus on mitigation, adaptation, research, and response for Alaska.

Among members chosen was ALFA Executive Director, Linda Behnken

“Naming our team is another critical step in advancing meaningful climate policy,” Governor Walker said. “I am proud to present a motivated group of leaders, each of whom brings a range of expertise and interests to the table. Our team members not only represent a breadth of experience across the state from the North Slope to the Southeast, but also have strong networks and resources spanning from Alaska to the rest of the world, giving us a voice in the global dialogue on climate change.”

View the full press release here. 

​​​​​​​Linda Behnken honored by Alaska State Legislature

Linda Behnken, Executive Director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA) and a Sitka-based commercial fisherman, was recently granted an honorarium by the Thirtieth Alaska Legislature for her work protecting our local, regional, and national small-boat fisheries and coastal communities. 

Behnken was awarded the honorarium during a “Gearing up to 40 years” reception in Sitka last week, attended by ALFA’s supporters, funders, and local fishermen and featuring seafood prepared by award-winning Juneau chef, Lionel Uddipa. The award comes on the heels of Behnken’s national recognition last year as a “Champion of Change for Sustainable Seafood” by the White House.

"Linda is a down-to-earth, hard-working Alaska mom and fisherman who cares about our oceans and sustainable rural economies and bring ferocious political efficacy to bear on her work," said Representative Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, who represents Sitka and surrounding rural communities. "She’s employed innovative strategies to advance marine conservation and strengthen small-boat, community-based fisheries. She has a history of collaborating with diverse stakeholders and bringing fishermen to work together with scientists to solve conservation and management challenges."

In addition to honoring Behnken, the reception was hosted to celebrate forty years of ALFA’s leadership in fishery conservation locally and nationally. Founded in 1978, the organization spearheaded efforts to eliminate foreign fishing on sablefish and rockfish stocks in the 70s, supported an aggressive rebuilding schedule for depleted sablefish stocks in the 80s, and lead the battle to eliminate trawling from Southeast Alaska waters in the 90s. Linda has acted as Executive Director since 1991.  

Under her leadership, ALFA has received recognition nationally for its role as a leader in fishermen-led advocacy in support of coastal fisheries and communities.

“Linda has taught me that while the fish in the Gulf of Alaska may be different from the fish in the Gulf of Mexico, our battles are the same.” says Eric Brazer, Deputy Director at the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance. Brazer works with ALFA as part of the Fishing Communities Coalition, a national coalition of small boat fishing organizations. “Through her leadership at the Fishing Communities Coalition, we can chart a better course for tomorrow’s commercial fishermen.”

To celebrate forty years of advocacy, forty donors contributed to support ALFA’s Fishery Conservation Network, a program started by Behnken that engages fishermen and scientists in a range of conservation projects. The reception wrapped up the Sitka Fishermen’s Expo, a weeklong event hosted by ALFA and the Sitka Seafood Festival, which provided workshops, educational events, and networking opportunities for commercial fishermen and the public.

When asked about the award, Behnken said, “I am humbled, amazed, and more than a little overwhelmed. Really the accolades belong to the entire ALFA Team--staff, board and members--and to the incredible community that supports us. My inspiration comes from all of you.”

The Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association is an alliance of small boat, commercial fishermen committed to sustainable fisheries and thriving coastal communities. Our members support science-based fisheries management through collaborative research, advocacy and innovation. We work to safeguard ocean health and improve the economic viability of small boat fishing. For our members, commercial fishing is more than a livelihood; it's a way of life.

Need a deckhand?

ALFA Members, 

We have received several requests from potential crew who are interested in participating in our crewmember apprenticeship program. We are now looking for experienced skippers to match them with. If you are looking for crew for next season, are interested in taking someone out for any period of time, or are just interested in getting involved, please contact Alyssa at alfa.outreach@gmail.com

Thank you! 

NOAA report reaches to compound the interest and rewards of sport fishing

By Jerry Fraser

This article from National Fishermen points out misleading information put forth in a recent NOAA report. 

"Anyone who spends time with NOAA’s report will recognize that the commercial harvest of fish is a substantial driver of the national economy. Why, in a report intended to illuminate the masses, NOAA chooses to trumpet the soft science of a data-poor economic impact assessment is beyond me, and a little worrisome."

Read the full post here: 

https://www.nationalfisherman.com/viewpoints/national-international/noaa-report-reaches-compound-sport-fishing-interest-rewards/?utm_source=informz&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_content=newsletter

Electronic monitoring rolling out in 2018 after years of work

Excerpt from the full article- read the full article here. 

Alaska fishermen will see changes to the mandatory observer program next year.

After years of requests, testing and prepping, the National Marine Fisheries Service is rolling out a more-complete electronic monitoring program for small boat fishermen who are directed to have partial observer coverage as part of the 2018 observer program.

Electronic Monitoring uses cameras and sensors to record and monitor fishing activities, and help ensure the accuracy of catch records. Normally, that work is done by human observers who are placed on fishing vessels.

But when the North Pacific Fishery Management Council moved to put observers on smaller fishing vessels (those 60 feet or shorter) several years ago, to get a better sense of what was happening on those boats, captains said it could be problematic to take an extra person on their boats.

Join ALFA at the 2017 Fall Fishermen's Expo!

The next Fishermen's Expo is planned for November 7-10th, 2017, as part of an initiative by the Sitka Seafood Festival to involved more fishermen with the festivities. Visit alfafish.org or contact 747-3400 for more details! 

Schedule (view a PDF version here): 

November 7th (Centennial Hall): 
-F/V Drill Conducter training (more info coming soon!) (full day training, sign up at amsea.org) 

November 8th (Centennial Hall): 
- 9 AM : Bathymetric Mapping Workshop
- 1pm : “ASMI Update: The value of your catch and consumer marketing trends.” 
- Nobeltec vessel visits (email iker.pryszo@nobeltec.com to sign up) 
- 2 PM: Sablefish Pots 101
- 3 PM: "Eyes on the Sea: What halibut fishermen have to say about bycatch and data collection in their fishery"
- 5:30pm Fishermen's Job Fair & Mixer at the Mean Queen

November 9th (Centennial Hall): 
- 9 am: Bookeeping for your Fishing Business
- 11am: Borrowing for your Fishing Business
- 1:30-4:30pm: Fishing Vessel Stability Training

ALFA and the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust banded together to host the first ever Fishermen's Expos in 2016 and 2017, 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.