Kuskokwim Inter-Tribal Fish Commission executive director Mary Peltola says public outreach from the task force has fallen short because online portals and state public notices don’t reach the people most affected by declining fish populations.
Kuskokwim Inter-Tribal Fish Commission executive director Mary Peltola said she wasn’t notified of the meeting in advance. Public outreach fell short, she added, saying online portals and state public notices don’t reach the people most affected by declining fish populations.
Peltola also questioned the need for a task force at all. She says the Dunleavy administration already has tools to manage fisheries to give relief to struggling subsistence stocks through the Alaska Department of Fish & Game. United Catcher Boats, which represents pollock and cod trawlers, says its members are collecting data and are willing to share findings with the task force about what it’s found keeps salmon, halibut and crab out of nets.