FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) - Delegates at the Tanana Chiefs Conference convention want tribes to gain a larger role in Alaska fisheries management.
They passed a resolution seeking to give tribes a greater voice Wednesday in Fairbanks during their annual convention, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (https://is.gd/AFEIED) reported.
The action was among more than 60 resolutions that considered Wednesday. Most of the resolutions were approved.
Delegates also want to see commercial pollock fisheries curtailed until weak salmon stocks recover. The fisheries have been blamed for catching thousands of king salmon each year as bycatch off Alaska’s coast.
King salmon runs have declined in the Yukon-Kuskokwim area, which has led to limits on subsistence fishing.
Many villagers in the region say commercial fleets should face more limits before subsistence users are affected.
TCC, an interior Alaska tribal consortium, stopped short of supporting a resolution for a widespread civil disobedience campaign on the issue. Delegates deferred action on the resolution that would require tribes to pay fines for fisherman who are cited for protest-fishing of kings.
TCC needs to aim higher with a broader effort that would protest tribal exclusion from fish and game management decisions, said Ben Stevens, a Stevens Village resident.
“I think that we can do this thing on a bigger scale,” he said.
TCC’s general counsel, Natasha Singh, said the issue is worth pursuing. She said, however, that effective civil rights movements often take meticulous planning.
“It has to be done very carefully,” she said. “We should look to the past to see what’s been successful for others.”
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Information from: Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner, https://www.newsminer.com
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