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ADF&G has plans in place to manage this year’s fisheries

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
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15
ADF&G has plans in place to manage this year’s fisheries

By DOUG VINCENT-LANG

Alaska’s fisheries are world-renowned. They feed Alaskans through subsistence, sport, and personal use fishing. Our commercial fisheries feed the world and our charter and guide industries provide much needed fishing access to both Alaskans and our guests and all contribute greatly to our state and local economies.

The response to the COVID-19 pandemic has touched us all and impacted our daily lives in many ways. From hunkering down in our homes, to school closures, to lost jobs and income, to not being able to join friends at the local watering hole, these are trying times.

Trying to find the right balance to protect public health while ensuring we do not destroy the economic foundation of our state is challenging. Our knowledge of the virus is rapidly growing and as we learn more, our strategies for addressing the pandemic are evolving. This flux is understandably causing uncertainty and uneasiness as we gradually move back to normalcy and a reopening of our economy.

In this light, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is preparing to prosecute fisheries this summer as close to normally as possible. We have plans in place to deploy the necessary research and management infrastructure to allow us to manage the state’s fisheries and we are developing implementation plans to protect the health of our employees, the health of fishery participants, and the health of the communities where fishing takes place.

For example:

  • We are requiring workers returning to Alaska to self-quarantine for 14 days.
  • We are not allowing staff who are displaying COVID symptoms from traveling to field camps.
  • We are enacting rules that limit staff interaction with communities to where they are deployed.
  • We are encouraging staff to wear face coverings when interacting with the public.
  • We are developing plans to medivac staff that display critical COVID symptoms so they are not reliant on local medical facilities.

It is important to note that we already have many fisheries currently open and underway. Bering Sea crab, Kodiak roe herring, Prince William Sound Tanner crab, Gulf of Alaska rockfish and Pacific cod jig, halibut and sablefish IFQ, Bering Sea/Aleutian Island groundfish (pollock and cod), and Gulf of Alaska groundfish are all underway.

We are also poised to begin the fisheries for Southeast Alaska herring, Prince William Sound shrimp, sablefish, Kodiak Dungeness crab, and Togiak herring fisheries.

We are learning from these fisheries how best to conduct them in the COVID environment in which we live . As we learn from these experiences, we are adjusting our implementation strategies both at the management level and the fishery level.

Fishermen and the fishing infrastructure are also developing mitigation plans that are evolving as we learn from our experience and from our health experts regarding the virus. These plans are focused on protecting the health of their workers, the health of fishermen and the health of the communities in which they work. These plans are being shared with the public.

We are also working with the guided sport and charter industry to develop strategies to prosecute these fisheries. These fisheries face special challenges given the number of non-residents participating in them and the difficulty in practicing social distancing in confined spaces. We are confident that industry lead efforts to develop implementation plans will allow these fisheries to operate and protect the health of fishermen, their clients, and the communities in which they operate.

Regarding subsistence, sport and personal use fisheries, the department understands the importance of these fisheries to Alaskans and supports Alaskans having the opportunity to get out and fish to feed their families and fill their freezers. We have provided guidance on our web site regarding best practices for participating in these fisheries. We strongly encourage you to follow this guidance to protect your health and the health of our communities.

In closing, it is our goal to have viable fisheries this summer while taking the necessary steps to protect the health of Fish and Game employees, fishery participants and the communities they operate in. Protecting the public remains a primary concern of state government, and we will do this while balancing the needs of our economy.

I encourage all to be responsible as you venture out this season. Follow the dictates of your approved plans, abide by department guidance, and be ready to adapt to an evolving situation. But most importantly, enjoy the publicly owned resources that we are so blessed to be managing on your behalf.

Doug Vincent-Lang is the Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Dunleavy: Alaskans have done the best in country at turning the tide on COVID-19

Suzanne Downing
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9
Dunleavy: Alaskans have done the best in country at turning the tide on COVID-19

HE SAYS THE ECONOMY WILL OPEN QUICKLY … SOON

The hair cutters will be busy soon in Alaska. And they’ll have a lot of hair to cut, since they’ve been out of work since April 1, due to a government mandate related to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy said that Alaska is going to slowly and methodically open up the economy as early as next week, to include retail, barbers and hair dressers, nail salons, and even restaurants.

Dunleavy didn’t give specifics during his press conference, and said details would come later this week. Today’s announcement was more of a hint about what will come starting next week.

Dunleavy said Alaskans should expect to see workers in face coverings in public places like stores and restaurants, and that face masks are key to keeping the infection from spiking. And that they should continue to observe the hand washing, sanitizing surfaces, and wearing those face coverings when they go into stores or in other public places.

Dunleavy said Alaskans have done a great job in adopting the protocols of social distancing, not shaking hands, and sanitizing their hands and surfaces, and because of their efforts, the Alaska cases are diminishing. He noted that as of right now, only eight Alaskans are in the hospital with the infection.

Dunleavy did not, however, announce a rollback of the 14-day travel quarantine that all travelers to Alaska must observe, regardless of residency, or the ban on intrastate travel, but he said he would be discussing with mayors in Alaska tomorrow the steps to opening up commerce sooner rather than later.

Some smaller communities in rural Alaska may choose to take a much slower approach to opening their communities, since the health care available in rural Alaska is scarce, he said.

Crash: Oil reaches negative territory, lowest in history

Suzanne Downing
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Crash: Oil reaches negative territory, lowest in history

WHAT WILL THE ‘OUR FAIR SHARE’ OIL TAXERS DO NOW?

At one point during futures trading today, U.S. crude prices dropped more than 100 percent — into negative numbers.

The drop for West Texas Intermediate crude for contracts with May delivery ended at a minus $37.63. This means the traders had to pay someone to take the oil from them.

Tuesday is the last day for traders to buy May contracts. Prices are predicted to bounce back modestly by Wednesday. The June futures’ contracts are a bit above above $20, so the dire drop today isn’t expected to stick around.

But prices won’t rebound to profitability for many companies, oil analysts say. Not for some time, at least.

Alaska North Slope crude prices are announced on a four-day delay, so they look artificially higher than they actually are. Analysts expect them to drop in a day or two, and then bounce back into the $20s.

Still, for the major oil companies, profits aren’t taken until expenses are covered, and the cost of producing and shipping a barrel of oil in Alaska is about $40. They are not making money in Alaska and haven’t for some time.

The immediate risk for Alaska is whether enough tankers can be found to even take delivery of oil at the Valdez terminal. ConocoPhillips and BP have their own tanker fleet, but Hilcorp does not, and in any case, there’s no place to take the oil on the West Coast.

If tankers can’t be booked and storage tanks are full — and this is worst case scenario — it could mean the Trans Alaska Pipeline System could shut down. That could mean the shuttering of wells in Prudhoe Bay, Kuparuk, Endicott, and older legacy fields.

Those legacy fields are the same ones the “Our Fair Share” oil tax initiative is aiming to extract $1 billion in taxes from. And Robin Brena, a law partner of former Gov. Bill Walker, has paid to have that ballot initiative go to a statewide ballot some time this year.

Brena can’t just put the toothpaste back in the tube on his oil tax ballot initiative. He’s got his 39,174 petition signatures, and he’s submitted them for certification. The certification is done. Now, it’s in the hands of the State Division of Elections to schedule for a ballot.

Brena will likely say its even more important for Alaska to have a minimum tax, because the State needs money. His initiative would double the minimum tax paid by the legacy field producers, the very ones that are losing money on every barrel they pump from the North Slope.

What will Brena and his fellow oil taxers do in this Year of the Oil Glut?

The Our Fair Share organization has been strangely quiet, and so have the Democrats like Sen. Bill Wielechowski, who have supported the extreme tax proposal.

The current best option for Brena is to hope that the courts rule his initiative illegal, since the signatures on the petition were gathered illegally and since the Resource Development Council has filed a lawsuit.

If it goes to the ballot this year, it’s going to lose, because most Alaskans understand how bad it would be to tax companies that are losing money in Alaska.

COVID update: Two cases

Suzanne Downing
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COVID update: Two cases

Just two more cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed in Alaska in the the 24-hour period that ended at midnight on Sunday.

161 Alaskans have recovered from the infection that started in China. Nine have died. The total number who have been infected is 321.

The two new cases are in Anchorage (1) and Mat-Su (1).

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday saw a total of 12 cases.

Total case count by community to date:

  • Anchorage: 155
  • Kenai Peninsula: 19
  • Fairbanks/North Star Borough: 79
  • Southeast Fairbanks Census Area: 1
  • Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area: 1
  • Kodiak: 1
  • Mat-Su Borough: 18
  • Nome Area 1
  • Juneau: 24
  • Ketchikan: 15
  • Petersburg: 3
  • Craig: 2
  • Bethel: 1
Shop the Freedom Collection at: https://must-read-alaska.myshopify.com/collections/freedom

COVID-19 update: Five cases Saturday, five more Sunday

Suzanne Downing
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8
COVID-19 update: Five cases Saturday, five more Sunday

Between Friday and Sunday, 10 new cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed in Alaska.

The total number of cases has risen to 319, with 153 of those recovered, and 166 known to be actively fighting off the virus.

There were no new deaths reported. Nine Alaskans have lost their lives to complications resulting from the Wuhan coronavirus, although just seven of those who died passed away in Alaska. The death rate is 2.82 per 100 cases, including the two out-of-state deaths.

Today’s cases include what was reported from 12 a.m. until 11:59 p.m. on April 18, and show cases that developed in three Alaska communities – Anchorage (3), Palmer (1), and Petersburg (1).

The five from Saturday’s report had cases in four Alaska communities – Anchorage (1), Soldotna (2), Palmer (1) and Wasilla. (1). 

Total cases of COVID-19 that have been diagnosed in Alaska, (including recovered and deaths):

  • Anchorage: 154
  • Kenai Peninsula: 19
  • Fairbanks/North Star Borough: 79
  • Southeast Fairbanks Census Area: 1
  • Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area: 1
  • Kodiak: 1
  • Mat-Su Borough: 17
  • Nome Area 1
  • Juneau: 24
  • Ketchikan: 15
  • Petersburg: 3
  • Craig: 2
  • Bethel: 1

By Saturday noon, 9,895 COVID-19 swab tests had been conducted in Alaska. Approximately 3.22 percent of those who have been tested have yielded a positive lab result.

Alaska is in free fall, while legislative hoarders hoard

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
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91
Alaska is in free fall, while legislative hoarders hoard

By TUCKERMAN BABCOCK

Alaska and Alaskans are in economic free fall: Forty thousand are suddenly unemployed, oil prices are crashing, new work is coming to a standstill, and tourism season is just about wiped out.

Stay-at-home orders were made, businesses were shuttered, and government declared a health emergency on a scale never experienced by any living Alaskan under 100 years old.

This is a statewide disaster.

There are those trying to help: President Donald Trump, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer, U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, and Congressman Don Young.

And then there are the majorities in the Alaska State Senate and State House.

The legislative majority guaranteed automatic pay increases for State of Alaska employees, increased the state budget by $300 million, and cut the Permanent Fund dividend by $1,300 this Spring, and another cut of $2,000 in October.

They were forced by minority members to begrudgingly allow Alaskans to have a third of their 2020 dividend ($1,000 in October).

They did this while sitting on a giant pile of money — $10 to $15 billion dollars in the Earnings Reserve Account of the Permanent Fund, the portion of the fund used to pay PFDs since 1981. During the last three years, the fund was also used to cover some of the deficit in State spending.

Who can argue this isn’t the rainiest of days?

Never before has government been directly responsible for putting 40,000 Alaskans out of work.

The governor has called for a full Permanent Fund dividend, to include all the years the legislative majority failed to approve the full PFD.

$5,044 is owed to every eligible man, woman and child in Alaska.

Gov. Dunleavy also advocates for a full PFD this year – $3,000, not the $1,000 squeezed from the Legislature. And that is exactly what existing law instructs legislators to do, a law that they ignore.

There are Legislators who support more for the PFD – but they are outnumbered by the hoarders.

Senate President Giessel and House Speaker Bryce Edgmon lead the hoarders in the Legislature.

They are proud of their hoarding. They left billions upon billions sitting in the Earnings Reserve of the Permanent Fund, disregarding the law that directs them to transfer a PFD of a statutorily calculated amount to each Alaskan.

They refused. They ignored the law. They would rather hoard the billions for the possibility that government may need the money later.

Hoarders — in a time of great need, with families who have been denied the right to work and resources in short supply. The legislative leadership are hoarders.

I have been involved politically in Alaska since 1979. I have supported the Permanent Fund and the PFD from the beginning. I volunteered in 1999 to Chair “Save the Dividend Mat-Su.”

The fact is that the PFD is your small share of the royalty paid on developing your oil. The government already taxes your royalty 75 percent to spend immediately.

The hoarders refuse. The hoarders are stuffing the vaults with billions for them to spend later.

Only you can stop the hoarders. It is time we all knew just who these hoarders are. Argue about who is most pure another time. Right now we need to know who the real hoarders are.

Through a constitutional amendment we Alaskans once voted to force the government to save and invest 25 percent of your royalties. Since 1981, the law has directed about 50 percent of the 5 year average in realized earnings be transferred to the actual owners of the oil: all individual Alaskans.

Former Gov. Sean Parnell and former U.S. Senator Mark Begich together recently urged the Legislature to act now to get more PFD out to the people.

Not every Legislator supports making good on all PFDs owed, not everyone agrees on exactly how much more PFD should go to Alaskans this year.

However, a good place to draw the line is between the miserly hoarders and those who support more PFD dollars going directly you (and owed to you under existing law!)

Here are the hoarders who are up for election:

  • Senator John Coghill
  • Senator Josh Revak
  • Senator Cathy Giessel
  • Senator Natasha Von Imhof
  • Senator Gary Stevens
  • Senator Bert Stedman
  • Representative Bart LeBon
  • Representative Steve Thompson
  • Representative Grier Hopkins
  • Representative Adam Wool
  • Representative Ivy Spohnholz
  • Representative Andy Josephson
  • Representative Harriet Drummond
  • Representative Geran Tarr
  • Representative Zach Fields
  • Representative Matt Claman
  • Representative Chris Tuck
  • Representative Chuck Kopp
  • Representative Jennifer Johnston
  • Representative Gary Knopp
  • Representative Louise Stutes
  • Representative Sara Hannan
  • Representative Andi Story
  • Representative Jonathon Kriess-Tompkins
  • Representative Dan Ortiz
  • Representative Bryce Edgmon
  • Representative Tiffany Zulkovsky
  • Representative Neal Foster
  • Representative John Lincoln

Those who to varying degrees are in favor of following the law or getting more PFD dollars to Alaskans:

  • Senator David Wilson
  • Senator Shelley Hughes
  • Senator Bill Wielechowski
  • Senator Tom Begich
  • Senator Donny Olson
  • Representative Mike Prax
  • Representative Dave Talerico
  • Representative Colleen Sullivan-Leonard
  • Representative Mark Neuman
  • Representative George Rauscher
  • Representative David Eastman
  • Representative DeLena Johnson
  • Representative Cathy Tilton
  • Representative Sharon Jackson
  • Representative Kelly Merrick
  • Representative Gabrielle LeDoux
  • Representative Sara Rasmussen
  • Representative Mel Gillis
  • Representative Laddie Shaw
  • Representative Lance Pruitt
  • Representative Ben Carpenter
  • Representative Sarah Vance

We are not talking toilet paper here, the hoarders are taking real money out of your pockets and your bank accounts.

What the hoarders have done is not illegal, according to the court – just terribly, painfully, wrong. This fall, Alaskans will determine the political price many of the hoarders will pay.

Tuckerman Babcock has been an Alaskan since January 1966. He worked for five legislators, two governors, served 10 years with Matanuska Electric Association, 3 and 1⁄2 years as a commissioner of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. He has been a homemaker and former volunteer chair, Alaska Republican Party. Most recently, he chaired Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s transition team and was the first chief of staff (retired August 2019). He lives in Soldotna with his wife and family.

APOC: Assemblyman Chris Constant illegally campaigned for Anchorage Assembly members

Suzanne Downing
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2
APOC: Assemblyman Chris Constant illegally campaigned for Anchorage Assembly members

The Alaska Public Offices Commission has filed a complaint against Anchorage Assembly member Chris Constant, who ran unopposed in the municipal election, and who the commission says used a fraction of his vast campaign war chest to support his fellow liberals in their reelection efforts.

Constant ran several ads in support of Assembly members Suzanne LaFrance, Pete Peterson, Austin Quinn-Davidson, Meg Zalatel, and Felix Rivera. All won their bids for reelection.

During the last three days before the April 7 election was completed, Constant ran a Facebook ad “extolling the accomplishments the candidate had made together,” (shown above).

The ad was seen by Anchorage residents between the ages of 18 and over 65 on Facebook.

Then, on April 6, one day before the election, Contant posted individual ads for each of his fellow liberals on the Assembly who were running for reelection.

APOC staff say that Constant violated Alaska Statute 15.13 by using campaign funds to make a contribution to other candidates to try to influence other races.

The amount spent by Constant on the illegal campaign appears to be less than $100 and will likely result in a minor “cost of doing business” fine.

Constant started the year with over $27,000 in his campaign account. By the end of March, he had amassed nearly $33,000 in his campaign account and spent about $17,000 on his campaign. Constant had a lot of money to spare, and so had some cartoon ads designed to support those on the Assembly with whom he is politically aligned.

The APOC complaint does not include the cost of designing the ads, but only the placement of the ads on Facebook.

Constant has lived in the downtown Anchorage district since 1998. He is a licensed real estate agent and a grants and contracts director for Akeela, a statewide substance abuse recovery non profit. He has served twice as the president of the Fairview Community Council.

A growing problem

Anchorage Daily Planet
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A growing problem

The ANCHORAGE DAILY PLANET

The city’s growing problem with the “homeless” at Third Avenue and Ingra Street is ugly – and getting uglier.

One can only wonder what will happen when summer arrives and city-provided shelters for the homeless at the Ben Boeke Ice and Sullivan arenas are abandoned for camps across Anchorage. What will happen when those people again take to the woods?

Already a sizable number of them, some of them alreacy kicked out of other city shelters, are roaming the streets, and many are living in a tent camp at the site of the former Alaska Native Service Hospital, much to the chagrin of nearby neighbors, who complain of the drugs, illicit activity and alcohol.

The camp’s occupants, many of them impaired or mentally ill, openly are ignoring, even challenging, Mayor Ethan Berkowitz’s hunker down orders in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rob Cupples, a longtime resident of the area, tells MustReadAlaska.com things are as bad as he ever has seen them in the area and the camp only continues to grow.

“With this growth has come a substantial increase in garbage on our streets, partying, loitering on our private properties, and an increase in mob mentality due to the lack of community presence under the hunker down order,” he says. “The occupants of the camps have demonstrated aggression on multiple occasions to members of this community including aggressively chasing an ADN photographer from the area who reported to me personally being very fearful just last week.”

Such open disregard for the law to the detriment of the law-abiding presents a thorny problem for the Berkowitz administration, which already is spending millions on the homeless only to have the problem worsen. Do you enforce the law or turn a blind eye?

Something must be done. We wish we had an answer, a magic solution. We do not. It is a complex problem that puts individual rights at odds with the law and what is best for the community.

Only one thing is certain: As time goes on, and when the weather gets better, the problem only will get worse.

Many Alaskans appear ready to open up economy again

Suzanne Downing
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54
Many Alaskans appear ready to open up economy again

KENAI BOROUGH MAYOR PIERCE SENDS PLEA TO GOV. DUNLEAVY

A 23-hour Facebook poll on the Must Read Alaska page ended late Friday with over 1,500 participants; 82 percent of them said they are ready for the Alaska economy to be released from the government mandates that have destroyed many businesses and that are driving some Alaskans into poverty.

With tens of thousands Alaskans in the private sector suddenly unemployed by those who still have jobs in the public sector, a divide is developing between some who want the shutdown to continue as a health and safety measure to slow down the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus and others who say the cure is worse than the disease.

On Wednesday, April 22, a group of Anchorage residents plan a rolling protest through downtown Anchorage. They’ll be meeting at the Loussac Library at 11:30 am with cars, trucks, and flags. (By coincidence, that is also Earth Day).

[Information on the rolling protest at this Facebook page.]

Similar protests are taking place across the country as citizens bristle against seemingly arbitrary decisions that have created winners and losers in the commercial sector.

The Dunleavy Administration acted quickly in building the supply of personal protective gear, testing capacity, and numerous mandates, but the vast majority Alaskans participating in the MRAK poll say they’re now ready to get back to work. Several posted comments to the effect that safeguards still need to be in place, such as wearing face coverings and taking extra precaution with hand hygiene.

One Alaskan who is ready to restore Alaska’s economy is Kenai Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce, who wrote a letter to Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Friday:

“I have talked to many business owners on the Kenai Peninsula over the last several weeks and they are all struggling. If they have not been labeled essential, then they have been closed. Even so, all of their businesses are still down in revenue. Sadly, some have already failed and will never return. It will take years to recover economically from this COVID-19 event,” Pierce wrote. 

“We all need to be safe, but it’s time to return Alaskans to work, as soon as, possible. We must do both! Alaskans are smart, resilient, dependable, safety-conscious, hard-working and want to persevere through this crisis. Failure for Alaskans should never be the only option.

“The time is now, we need COVID-19 testing for all ASAP, its overdue. Waiting months for this virus to pass will be more than devastating. If we continue to wait, we risk losing the last bit of economic viability that we have left in our state.

“The Alaska Legislature has not been focused on the hardships we are experiencing. They have ignored important needs and have acted as if this event isn’t a problem? We need solutions now, not next week. 

“So, Governor, while they play politics with our daily lives, please return our liberties so we can succeed. Trust the people of Alaska! Execute your plans now to open Alaska.

“If you are sick or in a high-risk group, please stay home. Let those that can work safely, work.

“Governor Dunleavy, Alaskans are counting on you to lead and help is needed now,” Pierce concluded.

Alaska has gone from historic low unemployment this winter, at 5.8 percent, to the highest unemployment in state history, due to the economic shutdown at the federal, state, and local level.

Some 40,000 Alaskans applied for unemployment since the governor declared a state of emergency, with 38,000 of those claims are already processed, according to the Department of Labor Commissioner Tamika Ledbetter.

President Donald Trump has set May 1 as the goal for opening the economy, but has said he is leaving it to governors. Gov. Mike Dunleavy has hinted that he’ll lift mandates soon, but has not given specifics beyond the ending some — but not all — prohibition against doctors providing “elective care” for non-COVID-19-related procedures.

What are your thoughts about lifting mandates? Share them in the comment section below.

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