The Story from Emmonak. (updated)
24 01 2009
Yesterday, I and a group of amazing Alaskan bloggers and activists met with Dennis Zaki who has returned from a trip to Emmonak, Alaska, which has become a symbol for the fuel/food crisis facing many other rural Alaskan villages.
Gryphen at The Immoral Minority blog has a great write up of the meeting.
Dennis was there when the five officials from the government arrived in Emmonak, and said that essentially they were a bunch of “jackasses” full of promises but no real solutions. Dennis said it was clear to him that they were only there to provide the appearance of concern and to cover for Governor Palin. (Update: I forgot to mention that these officials only gave the people of Emmonak 60 minutes notice that they would be meeting with them, and then were 40 minutes late to their own meeting. Dennis said that this is considered very disrespectful and started things off on the wrong foot for many in the village.)
Dennis also pointed out that none of the five were from Fish and Game and the main reason that Emmonak is in the situation that it is in is because they lost 40% of their revenue from fishing this year compared to last year. If these people cannot fish they simply cannot support themselves. Without help getting more fish for the village this problem will simply not go away.Dennis also reported that the villagers have a solution to their own problem if only the government will help them to them build a new dock and a new a fuel storage facility. These are proud people who are very ashamed to have been reduced to asking for handouts and who just want the opportunity to be self-sufficient again. But the strict rules on fishing and hunting for those living a subsistence lifestyle make it virtually impossible to live according the “old ways”.By the time that the fishing season officially opened for Emmonak the fish were all but gone, having been “fished out” by commercial fishing boats with huge nets and crews made up almost exclusively of caucasian out of state fishermen.
Good: Five representatives from the State went to Emmonak and Kotlik this week.
Bad: Five representatives from the State spent a very few hours in Emmonak and Kotlik this week…the wrong five representatives.
There was Tara Jollie from Community and Regional Affairs as well as representatives from the Department of Labor, the state divisions of Public Assistance and Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
1) No one came from ANY agency dealing with the Alaska fisheries.
This crisis is the direct result of the failure of the king salmon fishery this past summer, so folks have been living on approximately 1/20th their normal yearly income. The villages have protested for years about the decimation of their subsistance fishery by huge trawlers from Washington State (all with cute Alaskan names) who either overfish the kings or waste them as bycatch when fishing for other species. Yet, no one from Dept. of Fish and Game, the Dept. of Environmental Conservation or the Board of Fisheries showed up…no one. This sent a message that no one has been listening…that in the years since 2001, when the fishery crashed the last time and none of the promises made by the Knowles administration were ever realized, no one has been paying attention at all.
The rest of the post is a must read, and addresses what might be done to help with the money the Obama administration is offering, and that Gov. Palin has rejected in the name of “fiscal responsibility.”
Nick Tucker, whose letter to the Bristol Bay Times brought attention to the crisis. Photo by Dennis Zaki
January 24th, 2009 at 8:04 PM
The above left out the web site – change.gov
January 24th, 2009 at 8:50 PM
Peaceful Granny (18:38:25) :
@charise820, how would we know whose fish to stop buying? Remember the villagers also make their living selling fish, most likely not to us down here, in the lower 48, but I was thinking we might pre-order our fish from them
You won’t know because the fish all go to the same canneries and wholesalers. They are picked up usually by a tender which seperates by species and weighs them out . My cousin and I own such a boat and we deal with many of the native fishermen (and women) in the Yukon Delta. We provide this service to them at their specific request. Yes I am from Washington and my cousin winters in Oregon primarily because in the 1920s my grandfather believed that Alaska was no place to raise children, so he brought them south where he believed at that time the schools and environment were better. He continued to work in Alaska and the Yukon designing and building roads and bridges until his retirement in 1945. My father worked as a tugboat captain running the inside passage delivering goods to Alaksa from the late 40s to the early 80s. There are many problems with the quota system that are to complex to go into here suffice it to say that what works on paper does not necessarily work on the water. If fishermen are wasteing kings and I am sure they are, it is because of the huge fines they would incur for having even one on board their boat if they are not in season.
January 24th, 2009 at 9:18 PM
Not to be hate full, but be aware…our governor and friends need a watchful eye! Dissection of the miserable rant:
Eddiophrase: “You Palin Haters”
Interpretation: A trendy propaganda term often utilized by incompetents not sufficiently expert in the art of healthy debate.
Eddiophrase: “Get a Life”
Interpretation: The suggestion from the lovers’ that they aren’t pleased with the ambition and tenacity of the debaters’.
Eddiophrase: “Make you look creepy”
Interpretation: Your spine-chilling, bloodcurdling, hair-raising, spine-tingling arguments are frightening my existence as a blind lover incapable of debate.
Eddiophrase: “Chill out for a while”
Interpretation: Please put on ice this chatter now because I itch all over.
Not much more to say…just love the one your with! Eddie is just clue-less!
January 24th, 2009 at 9:28 PM
My recollection is that Nick Tucker’s initial letter outlining the rural village crisis was aired by Lisa Murkowski in the Senate.
I would think that Sen. Murkowski (and Sen. Begich) would be an excellent avenue to bring further public notice, (especially in DC at the Senate level), to the ideas and proposals the villagers have come up with as far as infrastructure changes and enhancements in their specific villages. She definitely should be made aware of Dennis Zaki’s report and at least the outlines of specific rural proposals.
After all, the Senate will be voting on infrastructure spending bills as put forth by the Obama administration in the coming weeks to months.
All interested in the welfare of rural Alaskan villages should contact Sen. Murkowski by email or phone and urge her further involvement in the rural crisis. If nothing else, it may put more pressure on Palin to reconsider her “gas line” criteria as the only basis for infrastructure requests in the upcoming national legislation. Palin apprently only responds to significant pressure….not to gnashing of teeth….or to real human suffering.
The moral correctness of this issue is definitely on the side of rural Alaska, especially with Obama at the helm now.
January 24th, 2009 at 9:29 PM
Erma (20:04:36) The website “Change.gov” now directs you to the new” Whitehouse” page. Nice site.
January 24th, 2009 at 10:41 PM
crystalwolf a.k.a. caligrl (17:37:03) :
That is insane! Washington! They come down here and “Poach”too! This year there was not enough crab so private and commercial season was closed!
But if anything they should have SOMEONE checking Salmon availability and if it not enough to sustain Natives first and commercial fishing, the commercial fishing should season should be closed! Ugh…doesn’t barbie and dud, do Commercial Salmon fishing or used to?
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Here is some information fish migrate north to feed then return to their home waters to the river where they were born to spawn and die. The fish from the rivers of Alaska feed in the Arctic, the fish from Canadian waters and the straight of Jaun de Fuca (northern washington) feed in Alaska., and so on down the coast. Overfishing by the russians and the japanese who use huge factory trawlers to fish right up to the boundry and like to use drift nets has contributed heavily to the problem along with logging practices and construction along the rivers of the west coast of the US and canada. It is the subject of major treaties and anamosity between Canada and the US. Things are changing slowly at least here, changes are being made by the removal of some dams, and high culverts that kept salmon from using parts of the rivers. Salmon runs are expanding in both Oregon and Washington but they are still tiny compared to what they were 100 years ago. Unfortunatley they are collapsing in California rivers for unknown reasons so Oregon fisheries have now been decimated. Not sure whats happening in Canada but they were getting alot of push back from the logging companies last I heard. I do agree the Native fishermen should be given first shot if there was a way to do that but since most of them are river fishing when the fish are running that would simply mean eliminating all commercial fishing because the fish come into the river only at the end of their lives.
January 24th, 2009 at 10:51 PM
“As Director of Community & Regional Affairs, Tara Jollie will lead the division’s efforts to provide services that will help Alaska’s rural lifestyle thrive.”
Her solution to “thriving,” per an interview with Kyle Hopkins: “We went out there armed with job training information, public assistance and food stamps…”
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I’m a little torn on how to respond. On one hand, I know I’m tired and shouldn’t be typing and on the other hand, I’m incensed and want to wring Tara Jollie’s neck!
Like every other location throughout the US public assistance is good IF it is administered correctly. It is NOT within the villages. Or at least my village. There are families who are hooked on welfare (public assistance) and probably don’t know how to really exist without government help. My people used to be independent and creative in ways to survive up here. Now there is so much lost.
A friend of mine who is a published Alaskan author once said, ‘the governments unspoken goal is to get the native population hooked on government assistance until their no longer able to function without. In doing so the creativity, hard working spirit and ability to think and be independent will be destroyed, allowing the government to then withdraw (cut) public assistance and then offer money for their lands. All legal.’
My friend mentioned after giving birth to her 1st child and moving to her husbands village she was approached by someone working for one of the state organizations. This person gave her a packet of forms and told her to fill it out. The woman explained that it was food stamps, aid for energy and a variety of other government ‘assistance’. My friend refused and told the woman that her and her husband will work for their living and won’t be needing the State’s aid. The worker was surprised and continued to push and explain that it was to ‘help’ them, etc.
Basically, my friend tossed her out with a firmly said, ‘no thanks’. But her husband (who was from that village) said she should have taken the money, surprising my friend. She promptly informed him that they will work for their living. And has done so.
But now after a decade or so, that same village is the talk of several other villages as being ‘lazy’ and generally not referred to very respectfully. However there are people there trying to make a difference but you can feel the difference in the air.
As for the land. It hurts to write this but there have been several transfers done over the years. Land that we won’t ever get back and money spent foolishly because mostly ‘our people’ have never been taught how to take and plan for the future. Money wise.
So when I hear that ‘thriving’ in correlation to public assistance and foodstamps, my blood boils.
January 24th, 2009 at 11:08 PM
“…By the time that the fishing season officially opened for Emmonak the fish were all but gone, having been “fished out” by commercial fishing boats with huge nets and crews made up almost exclusively of caucasian out of state fishermen….”
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This is also happening in my region. I am only in my early thirties and I remember watching as a child fishing nets pulled out of the Yukon heavy with salmon. This summer, we considered it lucky to get 6 or sometimes 3 from a net a day. Most days people didn’t get anything. Actually several days would go by before 1 fish was caught.
As for the ‘fish wheel’ we would relax and sit on the bank watching the fish wheel and almost every 4 or 6 turns it seemed like a fish fell in. Now you can sit for half an hour or more and not see 1 fish fall in.
This summer we had to pull our nets and stop the fish wheels several times after salmon season started, to allow what salmon there was to pass.
I know that the ‘commercial’ fishermen have families to feed and such but something has to be done to bring the salmon numbers back up.
One of my collage teachers said that once he fished in a bay with a friend for an hour catching salmon on every toss (catch and release). Then a commercial boat came in and dropped a net. After it pulled the net and left, the bay was like death. Nothing in the water. That was one small boat!
I’ve always wondered about the possibility of completely stopping fishing for 5 years in order to bring population numbers back. Hmmm… imagine the chaos, then again, imagine the salmon.
January 25th, 2009 at 12:16 AM
@Peaceful Granny(18:11:09) :
Where does Mr Palin have his fishing business? In his 2007 years tax reports he says he made $49,893, so what kind of fish is he catching and does he have any idea how that impacts the village catches or there catches impact his business?
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Todd’s setnet site is at Coffee Point on the Nushagak River on Bristol Bay. He fishes for reds. He bought the site from his grandparents when they retired. Todd’s grandma, Lena Andree, is 1/2 Yup’ik.
The commercial fishery on the Yukon is for kings, not reds.
If you guys all went back and read the ADN and other Alaskan newspapers from last spring and summer, you’d find out that cold ocean temps really screwed up all of the salmon fisheries. Late runs, missing runs, poor returns. It hammered all five species of salmon.
January 25th, 2009 at 12:40 AM
Living here on the Snake River and having watched the fish runs here dwendel away year after year for various reasons I kind of can see the writing on the wall up there in AK if something isn’t done soon. First you lose the runs close to the coast, then the number further inland until….well it’s really sad, if they can’t get inland to their spawning grounds there goes a whole lot, then add polution from mines and other toxic materal including human waste, various cultural rights and customs fighting and a whole way of life goes down the tubes. Now multiply that by every part of the planet and we are really going to have to work together to figure it out. After giving it some thought tonight, I’ve come to the conclusion we just have to stop fighting one another and put our collective heads together so we all have a better world to live in….We can do this….
January 25th, 2009 at 1:26 AM
Alaskan fisheries are robust and sustainable, in no small part because of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976. (Yes, the Stevens is Senator Ted Stevens.)
Last year was an outlier, although there were late fish runs that came in okay. It was a real spooky season all over the state. (The weather was really cold, too. We had a hard frost at my house on Summer Solstice and one on the 4th of July.)
The fisheries down there on the Left Coast have struggled because all the rivers are dammed. Have they started removing dams yet? Or putting fish ladders in? And there’s toxic runoff from the farming practices in use. And there’s just an awful lot of people concentrated on the coast.
January 25th, 2009 at 1:28 AM
Not sure if it was missed (or I overlooked on this thread) but Ann Struggling in Nunam Iqua (00:54:29) gave an update lastnight. Correcting the mailing address (back to the original, not to her home address). Also told about the food that has started coming! Pretty exciting read. She’s becoming one busy lady!
“Local News on KTUU Covers Emmonak.”
http://www.themudflats.net/2009/01/22/local-news-on-ktuu-covers-emmonak/#comments
January 25th, 2009 at 1:43 AM
I’m liking the idea of getting a micro loan to the natives so they can build what they need for future years. Is this a possibility?
January 25th, 2009 at 1:49 AM
To be honest, I’m not a fishing person. Did a bit getting trout on Lake Washington when I was going to college and eating beans. Actually cried when I had to gut my first fish. Last year when my Sis took us to Alaska on a cruise, I opted to see the Longhouses and Fish Hatchery and Antique cars tour while Sis/Bro went salmon fishing.
Still, I’m learning a LOT from all of you. It IS a combined problem that needs to be addressed. Hopefully the new Adults running the show in this new administration can figure it out from a better perspective.
January 25th, 2009 at 5:22 AM
If ya’ll would check out the forums, The Mudflats Blog Chat, labeled (Here is a Idea, I was thinking of, let me know what ya’ll think) by Tewise
January 25th, 2009 at 6:12 AM
Last week, the state of Alaska announced it plans to mount a legal challenge to the listing of the Cook Inlet beluga whale under the Endangered Species Act. (Placing the belugas on the endangered list requires a review of federally funded or permitted activities that could affect the health of the whales, the establishment of a recovery plan, and the designation of “critical habitat.”) This marks the second time in a year that Palin’s administration has squared off with the federal government over an ESA listing. Over the summer, her administration sued Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne after his agency conferred threatened status on the polar bear
Clipped from Mother Jones: Blogs
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Another reason she has no time for Native needs…big money wants their way….
A Prayer: May waz.er.name disappear into the slime she has created…please….
January 25th, 2009 at 6:14 AM
Mainstream Media has finally caught up with the story!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Today’s Sunday LA Times!!!!!!!!!
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-rural-alaska25-2009jan25,0,6182382.story
It’s a start.
January 25th, 2009 at 8:32 AM
Dennis’ story was amazing. Thank You!!!
Way to go bloggers who where able to rally and those who were able to donate financially.
I have yesterdays mascara running down my cheeks after going to the The Tundra Drums. It is amazing a “few bad apples” in their parents basements were able to so much more than The Gash in an equal time span. THAT is a great feeling! The suckie feeling, is that it isn’t over for these people yet, and what to do when the donations are gone?
January 25th, 2009 at 8:59 AM
I grew up in Washington State. I have met more than a few commercial fishermen. Even dated a few. One thing they all had in common was the annoying habit of bragging about how much money they made in such a short time. Still it was never enough for them. They were always trying to buy more boats to make even more money. Very greedy. Perhaps this is why Palin chooses to ignore the people in Emmonak and other rural towns. She does not want to deal with the big problem of overfishing. Drill baby Drill! Fish Baby Fish!
January 25th, 2009 at 9:51 AM
CRFlates
“Mitchell has long been a lightning rod for his stance on Alaska tribes, which he says do not have the same status as tribes in the Lower 48. Though his argument has not prevailed in state and federal courts, he remains the leading theorist behind efforts to oppose tribal status and minimize tribal authority in Alaska, including by the Republican legislative majority.”
OK this was in ‘05 but if you go to the US Bureau of Indian affairs you will see Alaskan Natives are indeed included. He has no right to say they are not!
And as far as the fishing, maybe they need to ban it this year except for Natives up there. They had to ban crabbing down here last year, Fisherman’s wharf was afraid of all the crab they would loose (I believe they imported it from the E. coast) Local Commercial fisherman bitched, out of state (WA) also, I think CA got some kind of help. But they came together and did for the crabs. Hopefully they will be more plentiful this year. If people could only take enough that they need and not be greedy (not including Natives here, because I know they have always been conservative, only taking what they need not more)
Most repubs think global warming is BS, well whatever, something is going on! If you read RFK jr. book “Crimes against Nature” Bush Basically ran allover plundering the country, poisoning the planet. PO is going to have to undo allot of damage and time & nature the rest. Clinton had started to put environmental controls into place, Bush took them all out and more.
And this reminds me of Barbie shooting the wolves. Wolves predate, they take mostly sick/old/infirm. They do not kill for the sake of killing. If left along the checks and balances will keep a stable healthly caribou population. Repubs want to kill and plunder the planet for everything its worth. It really make me sick.
I am of Mexican descent. I have this on my myspace:
“The Earth is sick and dying. The lands of the Huichol Indians,
hidden high in the remote Sierra Madre mountains of northwestern Mexico,
are dying. The forests are shrinking, water is becoming scarce,
and the animals are disappearing.
Mankind must be a steward of the Earth;
Caretakers for all that dwells upon it;
To be of one heart with all things.
Human beings must learn to share the tears of every living thing,
To feel in his heart the pain of the wounded animal, each crushed blade of grass;
Mother Earth is our flesh; the rocks, our bones;
The rivers are the blood of our veins.”
January 25th, 2009 at 9:56 AM
realityeyes:Nobody is lying here about barbie. You need to get a clue or go to gretawire,hotair….
How DARE you insult the good people here you A$$!
January 25th, 2009 at 10:52 AM
Thanks crystalwolf. Reality eyes haw chosen to wear a blinders. I never claimed to be an expert. I was just making an observation about the commercial fishermen that I had been around. They were obsessed with making money. I went on a few date with the guys and realized they were not for me. Hardly a groopie. Fact is the worlds oceans are being overfished by many people. The people of Emmonak had good jobs for hundreds of years until the greed of cerain people came along. I see the seafood in the store going rotten because nobody can afford it and hear about the starving people of Emmonak. Lift your blinders and face reality.
January 25th, 2009 at 10:56 AM
Perhaps in place of each “NO” in realityeyes post the word “WRONG” should be substituted.
January 25th, 2009 at 11:00 AM
Blue Idaho:
Reality Eyes is dud….he is mad we are not ki$$ing barbies a$$!
Can’t wait until AKM makes him got splat!!!!!
He is a IDIOT!
January 25th, 2009 at 11:05 AM
realityeye:Overall environmental regulations are far far more restrictive now than they were during the Clinton Administration.
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funny I heard that same thing from a repub in texas, except that the EPA that Bush/made/overtook is a complete and total joke. RFKjr. is a environmental lawyer and if you read his book you would see I am not telling lies or misinformed. It is you drinking the Kool-aid who is….
The first thing Bush did when he came to office is overturn the law Clinton had signed to make water safer, he overturned it and allowed more toxins in water and before he left us, he relaxed that even more.
January 25th, 2009 at 11:07 AM
realityeyes needs to go pal around with some domestic terrorists over at AIP. Say hi to the first dud for us.
January 25th, 2009 at 11:15 AM
realityeyes = Palin?
January 25th, 2009 at 11:17 AM
womanwithsardinecan- I was imagining realityeyes in Palin’s office. Perhaps winky herself.
January 25th, 2009 at 11:19 AM
From the Tundra Drums:
Dennis Zaki, owner of Alaska Report, created a PayPal account to take donations after conferring with other bloggers who said they would help get out the word.
Within a day, the account had raised more than $5,000 from 100-plus donors, he said. The biggest donation of $1,000 came from someone in Hollywood. A film studio there also donated $550.
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Thank you Hollywood people. People bitch and moan about Hollywood (one of my mom’s GOP friend whose stepdaughter’s husband makes a very nice living from the industry is a particular pain about Hollywood Liberals), but they stepped up and fast. It puts Governor Dipshit to shame.
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From the LA Times:
At the moment, villagers in Tuluksak say their greatest hope is that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will come through again on his pledge to deliver free fuel to Native Americans — a promise that could mean 100 gallons for many families.
“What most people do not realize is that what our country as a whole has been seeing for the past year or so is nothing compared to the economic conditions that have been prevailing in many of our Native communities for over 100 years,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on Jan. 15.
“It is truly tragic,” she said, “that Alaska Native villages must depend on Venezuela for their safety net.”
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I had dinner last night with a woman who got her masters in geography from Alaska, and traveled to nearly all the villages when she was studying there. She then went into city planning in the lower 48 from all that she learned. People need to work together instead of against each other. We’re interconnected for survival of the species on the planet. (On a happy note, we were celebrating the resignation of a Peter Principle “General Manager” who was forced to resign for fraud, and by working together, the three of us at dinner got the ball rolling so the board of directors got her to leave. So there’s hope for Alaska. This woman had her crazy supporters, too, but the people who were not under the unfluence of the batting eyelashes prevailed.)
Governor Dipshit, congratulations on being so self centered and ignoring constituents. Way to go. Don’t let that door hit you on the way out.
January 25th, 2009 at 11:23 AM
Realityeyes: Your concept of the needs and desires
of Alaska Natives is based purely in fantasy and propoganda, you have obviously spent very little time with the folks in rural AK.
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funny you keep changing topics, so familiar?
I never said I spent anytime with the natives of Alaska now did I? That is not my job, here in CALI but it is the JOB of BARBIE to check and see if Crises going on in the Bush, with she can’t be bothered to do.
And so we are to believe you know the sole answer????
It is just my belief if people are in a crises people should band together and help, sorry if you think that’s so wrong. Even our new President has that CONCEPT of HELPING PEOPLE IN NEED! Now on the other hand I just got a letter from Newt gingrich, wanting me to send him $$ to “stop god from being taken from the square” whatever that means. Now why should I sent That SOB any $$?
January 25th, 2009 at 11:24 AM
That’s not Palin talking above. It’s not word salad. It’s one of her supporters who didn’t flunk English. I’m guessing her press guy.
CalifPat is far more articulate than Gov Dipshit, probably has completely had her fill of the Gov’s inability to do her basic job.
January 25th, 2009 at 11:25 AM
We don’t feed trolls here, remember? Just children in need. And this troll is not a child in need.
January 25th, 2009 at 11:34 AM
problem child- You are absolutely right and I apologize.
January 25th, 2009 at 11:38 AM
Blue Idaho, no apology needed! We have all been tempted at one time or another. But fewer responses makes the clean up easier once they go ’splat’.
January 25th, 2009 at 11:40 AM
Always a troll when there is no position to stand on in debate, I applaud the charity, but it is not the long term solution to the problems in rural Alaska.
My position is that we need responsible development of our natural resources,
This is the only long term solution to the economic problems faced by rural Alaskans, Most of the Native folks I know (which is many many) would tell you to shove your charity where the sun does not shine, and please give me an opportunity to make a living wage in the area in which i live. Is that so surprising of a position to take? What would your choice be? Stale Pilot bread and free fuel from Hugo Chavez, or the ability to support your family by working for good wages? It’s a no brainer, which makes it even more baffling that you folks do not get it.
January 25th, 2009 at 12:13 PM
this is not -charity-look it up…and I don’t see people refusing Chavez’s oil either. The Salmon fishing was next to nothing and the barge to bring oil got stranded in ice. It should be called by Gov. Grifter as a state of Emergency, but she is too busy with photo ops and interviews and getting ready for her ANOTHER vacation that you the people of Alaska will be paying for. Is that not Charity???? She keeps taking and taking, per diems etc. Free house?
So people are helping. It is so repub to sneer “charity” and “put it where the sun don’t shine” I don’t hear that coming from Emmonak at all.
And stale this and that, You are the STALE ONE!
January 25th, 2009 at 12:30 PM
Realityeyes needs to take a reality pill. Who are the people that work on the North Slope right now??? Ppl that come from the lower 48. Why aren’t they hiring the natives? What are you doing to help job training and skills that they need to get that job??? No, you give it to the ppl that come from the lower 48 and they collect on the dividend that they have no right to collect. Go take a reality pill.
January 25th, 2009 at 12:31 PM
I like the idea of each oil company giving $100,000.00 for village relief! Any chance that they will willingly sign on to help their neighbors in need?
Sarah could make the case to Big Oil. Exxon, being the gracious company will certainly volunteer their money for the people in the villages.
January 25th, 2009 at 12:45 PM
There was a very good article again today in the LATimes, print edition, front page–a very, very good location.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-rural-alaska25-2009jan25,0,2236427.story
January 25th, 2009 at 4:49 PM
This is a good article about overfishing. I would like to know why commercial fishermen are aloud to fish before the natives?
http://ehistory.osu.edu/osu/origins/article.cfm?articleid=18
January 25th, 2009 at 7:19 PM
After reading all of the comments about the plight of Alaskans in rural areas on this site, it was on the front page of the L.A. Times today. I wish everyone the best of luck getting through this difficult winter and if I had more money, would send you something.
January 25th, 2009 at 7:34 PM
Blue Idaho, good article but it leads to some conclusions that are not accurate the number of boats fishing on the west coast has gone down very signifigantly since th 1970s while the size has increased this is mainly due to the fact that many independant fishermen have been driven out of business.
In 1980 Reagan threw Alaska fisheries under the bus in a teaty with Russia. The “I can see Russia from my house” statement takes on pretty heavy signifigance when you consider salmon feed miles off shore and do not respect man made boarders. While the Alaska fishermen work under a quota system the russians have no such system nor do they do anything to regulate their catch. Most of the fish caught in Alaska waters do not origionate in Alaska but in the rivers of the Canadian west coast. Most of the fish from the river of Alaksa end up gracing russian plates.
Over fishing is an easy and shallow way to lay blame for problems that origionate at the streams and rivers where the fish spawn, continue into the waters where they feed and end with the purchases of major shares of the canneries and large fishing operations by overseas corporations. Then there are the ups and downs of the fish runs, some years are good others are terrible depending on what happened years before. Take the floods on the rivers if Western washngton this year the vast majority of the salmon eggs did not survive so in a few years the run will be alarmingly low. Certianly you can eliminate some dams but there also has to be balance with those industries and people who depend on the power, the towns that depend on them for flood control and the fish and for that matter the farms that depend on the rivers for water. Fish ladders help but the salmon depend on the flow of the river to guide them home, the lakes created behind the dam create problems with low current causing fish to loose their way and run out of juice before reaching their spawning grounds. It is a very complex problem.
January 25th, 2009 at 8:02 PM
@ Blue Idaho
It seems you paint things with a very broad brush. Such as, you have met a few fishermen who were jerks, therefore all fishermen are jerks. O.K. then, let me counter with this: Sarah Palin is stupid, Sarah Palin lived in Idaho, therefore all people who have lived in Idaho are stupid.
The question that should be addressed is, what happened to the king salmon bound for the Y-K Delta fisheries? Answering this question would require research, and asking more questions such as: What is the historical catch for the Y-K Delta? What is the designated allocation between commercial and subsistence users? How many of the Y-K Delta fishers are both commercial and subsistence harvesters? Does NMFS show any recent significant increase in bycatch of king salmon for the Bering Sea trawl fleet? Does ADFG have any comment on this situation?
As for your article on overfishing, did you even read it? Go to page 4 and look at the heading “The Alaskan Success Story”. Management of the many fisheries in Alaska is generally held in high regard. In particular, Alaskan salmon fisheries have earned the Marine Stewardship Council’s certification as a sustainable fishery. Check out the following ADFG press release for more information:
http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/news/2007/11-5-07_nr.php
January 26th, 2009 at 9:23 AM
Eddie if you look again at what I wrote you would notice that I said the ones that I had met. I never said all. I was pointing out that the fishing industry has plenty of greed. I don’t think anyone can deny this. It is big bussiness. The people I have met had very nice homes, cars and boats but continually talked about buying bigger and more boats and better nets to improve profits. I did read the article and posted it because it shows both successes and failures. You seem very defensive. If you are in this industry and are not like this than I am sorry if I hurt your feelings. My bussiness is in constuction and I know that there is plenty of greed here. I see it all the time. I still think the natives should have first shot at the fish. Has a study been started to find out what happened to the Kind Salmon? Would the Governor be the person who would order such a study. Would the people of Emmonak and other villages participate in the study. I have lots of questions. For now I have given up fish because I feel as a planet we are over fishing and I do not want to be part of the problem. Overfishing is a gloabal problem that may only be solved when there is no more fish to fight over.