The Alaska Board of Fisheries has posted on line its tentative meeting schedule for the 2011/2012 cycle, including sessions in Anchorage, Petersburg and Ketchikan.
A two-day work session is set for Oct. 4-5 on cycle organization and stocks of concern at the Coast International Inn in Anchorage. The comment deadline is Sept. 28.
Pacific cod for Prince William Sound, Cook Inlet, Kodiak, Chignik and the South Alaska Peninsula are on the agenda for Cot. 6-10, also at Coast International Inn in Anchorage, with a Sept. 28 deadline for comments. The session on Prince William Sound and Upper Copper/Upper Susitna finfish is tentatively set for Dec. 2-7, but the location has not been announced. The deadline for comments is tentatively Nov. 18.
Coming up in 2012, the Sons of Norway facilities in Petersburg will be the meeting site Jan. 18-24 for a session on southeast and Yakutat crab, shrimp and miscellaneous shellfish, including Dungeness, king and tanner crab. The comment deadline is Jan. 3.
The Board of Fisheries will be at the Ted Ferry Civic Center in Ketchikan Feb. 24-March 4 for a 10-day session on Southeast and Yakutat finfish, including salmon, herring and groundfish. The comment deadline is Feb. 9.
The Board of Fisheries will move back to the Hilton Hotel in Anchorage March 20-23 for a four-day session on statewide Dungeness crab, shrimp and miscellaneous shellfish, except for Southeast and Yakutat, and supplemental issues. The deadline for comment is March 5.
The board is mandated to conserve and develop the fishery resources of Alaska. This includes setting seasons, bag limits, methods and means for the state’s subsistence, commercial, sport, guided sport, and personal use fisheries, plus setting policy and direction for the management of the state’s fishery resources. The board is charged with making allocative decisions, and the department is responsible for management based on those decisions.