Alaska Delegation Gives CDQ Program Thumbs Up

Alaska’s
congressional delegation has made clear its support of the existing
Community Development Quota program and says any proposals for change brought
to them will need unanimous support from all six CDQ groups.

Senators Lisa
Murkowski, R-Alaska and Mark Begich, D-Alaska, and Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska,
said in their recent letter to the Western Alaska Community Development
Association that they applaud the work done to date by the CDQ groups.

“The job
growth and economic activity created by the program is a testament to your hard
work and dedication to the program’s vision as established in 1992,” said the
letter to Aggie Blandford, executive director of the association.

The 2006
amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
stabilized allocations between the groups and created the Western Alaska
Community Development Association, so the program is now on firm footing, they
said. 
“While we remain open to hearing from the CDQ groups, we expect any issue
brought to us for resolution to be supported unanimously by all six groups
before seeking congressional action to further improve the program,” they said.

The letter
came in response to meetings that representatives of the CDQ groups have been
having with members of Congress.

The five CDQ
groups that favor the current allocations include Aleutian Pribilof Island
Community Development Association, Bristol Bay Economic Development Corp.,
Central Bering Sea Fishermen’s Association, Norton Sound Economic Development
Corp., and the Yukon Delta Fisheries Development Association.

Coastal
Villages Region Fund, which represents 20 of the 65 CDQ villages, issued a
statement in September 2012 vowing to continue to seek changes to the
allocation of fisheries resources, to correct what CVRF alleges are flawed
allocations.

CVRF
spokesman Dawson Hoover said that CVRF was disappointed by the letter, but was
not planning to give up its effort to have changes made in the CDQ allocations.