All portions of the meeting are open to the pubic and live audio stream is intended to be available at www.boardoffisheries.adfg.alaska.gov
In addition to submitting written public comments, the board invites oral public testimony during the meeting. The tentative deadline for signing up is 2 p.m. Feb. 24.
The agenda and meeting roadmap are online at http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fisheriesboard.meetinginfo
In anticipation of a large number of participants in this meeting, the state’s Boards Support Section plans to hold a brief training session from 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. tomorrow in the main meeting area of the Anchorage Sheraton Hotel, to help participants better understand how the Board of Fisheries process works. Training matter will include how the board meeting structure works, how to get the most out of your maximum three minutes of public testimony, and things to consider when working with board members.
Topics before the board at this meeting range from proposals for changes in several salmon management plans and gillnet fisheries to area wide sport fisheries and habitat.
Proposal 134, for example, would amend the Kasilof River Salmon Management Plan to remove restrictions in the upper sub-district commercial set gillnet fisher and allow for regular weekly fishing periods through July 20, with additional fishing periods based on in-season abundance. That proposal from the Central Peninsula Fish and Game Advisory Committee contends that the current plan illegally restricts the commissioner’s emergency order authority and makes it impossible to manage the East Side set net fishery in a manner to meet the escapement goals and harvest the surplus.