The Sitka Sound Sac Roe Herring Fishery closed last week, but not before harvesting around 16,000 tons of herring, the biggest commercial harvest in nearly a decade.

Commercial fishermen want the lucrative fishery to continue. And while the state is in the middle of a lawsuit with the Sitka Tribe of Alaska over the management of the fishery, the state maintains that its model is conservative. But the model has its critics. KCAW spoke with Peter Bradley, a former Sitkan who has taken a deep dive into the data and modeling practices used by the state to manage herring.

KCAW– What is what is “Fishy Numbers: An Inquiry” and how did you get started on it?

Bradley– Last month I was in the preseason meeting that ADF&G held before the Sitka Sound Sac Roe Herring Fishery began. And at that meeting, the ADF&G staff members shared the herring forecasts for 2020 and 2021. And I was looking at these documents as they were speaking, and I realized that the weight at age that they were forecasting for this year’s fishery, which is to say how many grams an age five fish is, how many grams an age six fish is, those weights at age were derived from the 2017 and 2018, spring commercial purse seine weights at age. And if you’re forecasting for 2021, it seemed to me that you would want to be using more recent data from that. Now, there was no fishery in 2019 and 2020. And COVID-19 interfered in 2020. And, and so that sent me down a rabbit hole of really trying to get a better understanding of where the biomass numbers come from, and how the different components of the study fit together,

KCAW- Of your critiques of the state’s management, would the primary one be this this old data that they’re using in the forecast this year– is that kind of what you’re focusing on in this in this document?

Bradley– I have two major focuses. One is on the weight at age issue and which samples are being referenced. The other issue is about the fecundity estimates that are being used.

Everything that ADF&G knows about herring is knowledge derived from work of a few departmental staff members with the assistance of the commercial fishing fleet for three, four, five weeks of a year. Whatever the herring are up to for the other 47 weeks of the year is beyond the scope of this research program.

It’s like determining what a person is up to through their whole life by like, you know, checking out what they’re up to in Vegas. You know, you’re gonna get a pretty, pretty different impression if that’s if that’s the quality of the study. And that’s not a critique of what ADF&G does know. It’s a critique of the lack of acknowledgement of what is unknown.

KCAW– There are a lot of ways to get involved in the in the conversation around herring and for you, you’ve really focused on on the model and in the last couple of years, and really, really been at the heels of ADF&G at all these meetings asking questions. You know, it’s super complicated. You mentioned in the report that, you know, you say, “Although I am a layman, I believe raising the following points of question is merited.”  What’s your response to people who have concerns about that in this report that you’ve generated?

Bradley- Yep, I’m not scientifically trained, I guess I’m if I’m trained as anything it’s as a historian. But a major part of it has been going back, all the way back to the beginning of this fishery, and back, you know, before that as well. And reading all of the colloquial accounts of abundance. What I’ve started to sort of feel like my niche is, is as a kind of comparative literature of herring history. And so it’s just, “What were they saying? What were they not saying?” And, and most of all, is there a narrative that can agree with all…that can make all these different sources kind of agree, like, can common truths be found in this issue? 

Read more about Peter Bradley’s “Fishy Numbers: An Inquiry” here.

A Juneau Superior Court judge will decide whether the state has met its constitutional obligation for subsistence, in the management of the Sitka Sound Sac Roe Herring Fishery. The court heard oral arguments on January 14 from attorneys representing the Sitka Tribe of Alaska, the state, and commercial fishing interests. The outcome could give Sitka’s Indigenous population a larger role in determining how herring are shared among user groups in the future. 

The Sitka Tribe filed suit against the state in 2018, claiming mismanagement of the herring fishery had infringed upon subsistence rights. Last year, the court made two judgments in STA’s favor: The Alaska Department of Fish and Game must demonstrate how they consider the quality and quantity of herring spawn on kelp and branches when making management decisions about the commercial fishery. And the department must ensure there is reasonable opportunity for subsistence users in its management of the commercial fishery.

In this latest hearing on January 14, the Tribe’s case rested on a third question: Whether the state has met its (Alaska) constitutional requirement to manage the Sitka Sound herring fishery for subsistence? 

STA attorney Andy Erickson argued that ADF&G had a constitutional obligation under the “sustained yield mandate” to provide the Board of Fish with the best available information so it could make informed decisions about managing commercial and subsistence fisheries. He said ADF&G failed to do that by omitting key reports and findings on the state’s scientific model.

He cited two specific reports — the subsistence harvest data report and the “Martell report,” both of which he argued ADF&G failed to provide to the Board of Fish. 

The Martell Report was a scientific study of ADF&G’s herring fishery model, written by a professor at the University of British Columbia in 2016. The report was commissioned by ADF&G and included some critiques and suggested fixes for the state’s modeling. Erickson said the public and STA weren’t aware of the report’s existence until it came up during discovery. 

“ADF&G had never provided that report, as far as record reveals or as far as anyone knows, to the board in 2018 or 2019,” Erickson said. “And the reason that’s important is because during those years the board was being asked specific proposals to change the regulation that ADF&G was implementing by using that particular model.”

Attorneys for the state and the Herring Conservation Alliance, which represents commercial fishing interests, argued that the state had met its constitutional obligations. 

Attorney Jeffrey Pickett said the Tribe’s argument did not “meet the constitutional threshold,” and if the state ruled in the Tribe’s favor, it would give competing user groups the right to demand constitutional review for any scientific judgements made by state experts, down to things like whether a spotter plane should “fly at 120 knots or 140 knots.” He said that wouldn’t be tenable.

Pickett said Erickson implied that ADF&G scientists were withholding information from the Board of Fish, which he said was “offensive.”

“Suggesting that these scientists and experts have put their thumb on the scale in favor of the commercial fishery,” he said. “There’s no evidence of that, that there’s any kind of malfeasance conspiratorial intent.”

Michael Stanley, who represents the commercial fishing alliance, said the Martell Report was only a small piece of information considered by ADF&G and it wasn’t unusual for the department to not provide it to the Board of Fish. And he said it could have been obtained by Sitka Tribe and the general public through a public records request.

Judge Daniel Schally presided over the hearing from Juneau. Around 40 people tuned into the broadcast on Youtube, and the Tribe’s opening oral arguments were not broadcast, due to technical challenges during the first half hour.

Schally said he found all of the arguments illuminating, and said issuing his decision would take some time. 

Sitka Tribe of Alaska is holding its annual Tribal Council election on Tuesday (11-10-20).

Current chairman KathyHope Erickson is not seeking re-election. Two candidates are vying for the seat — current Tribal Council Member Lawrence “Woody” Widmark and former council member and assembly member Benjamin Miyasato.

There are four open council seats. Five candidates are vying for those — incumbents Bob Sam, Lillian Feldpausch and Michael Miller are running for re-election, and Louise C. Brady, who has run for the office before but has not yet served, and former Sitka School Board member Dionne Brady-Howard, are seeking seats. 

Polls are open to Tribal Citizens from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Sheet’ka Kwáan Naa Kahídi Community House.

Raven Radio offered candidates the opportunity to record statements. Listen to statements here.

Food insecurity among students is a concern during a normal summer. But this summer, because of economic hardship brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, that concern is even greater. The USDA Summer Food Service Program has existed for some time to help fill that gap, but this is the first time it’s operating in Southeast Alaska. KCAW’s Morning Host Erin Fulton spoke with Sitka Conservation Society’s Katie Riley and Kids Kupboard’s Melissa Koenig about how the Sitka Conservation Society, Sitka Tribe, Youth Advocates and Kids Kupboard are working together to bring the program to Sitka’s youth.

The program will operate through Aug. 25. Free breakfast and lunch are provided for anyone under the age of 18. Meals for the entire week can be picked up 8:30 a.m. to noon Tuesdays and Fridays in the STA parking lot. No registration is necessary, and delivery is also available. For more information about pick-up or to sign up for delivery, email carly@sitkawild.org or call 623-8309.

In oral arguments before Judge Daniel Schally last January,  counsel for the Tribe claimed that the Alaska Department of Fish & Game was not allowing for a ‘reasonable opportunity’ to harvest the amount of herring spawn necessary for subsistence users., in violation of its own regulations. The Tribe also claimed the state had failed to lawfully document how it was attempting to provide that reasonable opportunity.

In a judgment on Tuesday (3-31-20), Judge Schally agreed, writing that the state’s implementation of current regulations was unlawful.

In his 12-page opinion, Schally says that the Alaska Department of Fish And Game’s interpretation of the state code in question was “a hodgepodge,” and that “discerning exactly what ADFG’s interpretation is has proven to be an elusive task.” 

In its defense, the state argued that its press releases had provided adequate documentation of subsistence opportunity, but Judge Schally saw things differently. His ruling states that ADF&G had not provided a sufficient record explaining how (or even if) it determines if a reasonable opportunity exists for subsistence harvest before opening the fishery. 

“If adequate explanations for ADFG’s determinations do exist in the record, the state’s record does not clearly reflect them,” Judge Schally stated.

Read the fully summary judgment here

In a press release, STA Tribal Chair KathyHope Erickson said the Tribe is pleased with the initial victory. “We will continue in our steadfast manner as this litigation proceeds to protect the herring, not just for subsistence users and Tribal citizens, but for all users of herring as a resource.”

Though this is the first win for the Sitka Tribe, the fight over future management of the commercial herring fishery in Sitka Sound isn’t over yet. The full case is scheduled for trial at the end of July. Last year at this time, Judge Schally ruled against the Tribe’s request for an injunction against ADF&G in the days prior to the opening of the commercial herring fishery, saying that the Tribe had not demonstrated that it faced “irreparable harm” if the injunction wasn’t granted before the fishery occurred.

There’s uncertainty over whether Sitka’s tribe will lead interpretation at Sitka National Historical Park next year. The National Park Service and Sitka Tribe of Alaska say they’re negotiating terms of a new Annual Funding Agreement after the federal government opted not to renew the contract for 2020.

The tribe began co-managing interpretation at the small, historic park last year. The national park is part of the ancestral lands of the Kiks.ádi and the site of the fort that impeded Russian forces for four days during the Battle of Sitka in 1804.

It was precedent setting: this was the first time a sovereign tribal government was leading interpretation and educational services at a national park.

But last month, Sitka Tribe announced that the park service wasn’t renewing the contract and tribal tour leaders may not return next year. The release said the tribe had been given just four days to vacate and had to remove its property from the park.

Park Superintendent Mary Miller confirmed in a statement that the contract had expired near the end of September. She said that after a year-and-a-half operating under the agreement, the national park wanted to “take the opportunity to review things with STA and adjust if and where necessary.”

Both say talks are ongoing with neither willing to comment further until the two parties reach common ground. 

If no agreement is reached, Sitka National Historical Park’s tours and educational materials could revert back to being designed and managed by National Park Service interpretive rangers. 

City and Tribal government leaders broke bread at their biannual government to government meeting on Tuesday  night (3/5/19). During a two hour dinner at the Westmark Hotel, five of Sitka’s seven assembly members and Sitka Tribal Council members discussed issues of shared significance to STA and the city, like education, affordable housing, homelessness, and economic development.

But the future management of the Sitka Sac Roe Herring Fishery was at the top of the list. STA leaders asked assembly members if they would be willing to voice support for a subsistence management plan for the fishery. STA General Manager Lisa Gassman said the Tribe will present a document for the assembly to review at a later date, though whether that will be a resolution or letter of support has not yet been determined.

Tribal leadership also spoke about the status of their new address, 204 Siginaka Way, the former Forest Service building where the new headquarters of STA will be. Gassman said they hope to move into the new building by mid-August. Assembly member Aaron Bean asked what they would do with the former STA headquarters.

“That’s still up in the air,” said Tribal Chair KathyHope Erickson. “There are so many wonderful things we want to do with it.”

Assembly member Richard Wein said he thought the Tribe should consider opening a charter school in the building, where educators would teach K-12 along with more cultural education components.

The groups also talked about collaboration goals for 2019, including homelessness in Sitka and affordable housing. They discussed changing city zoning for cemeteries, and STA’s funding contributions to Sitka, including around $900,000 in pass-through grants in 2019 for things like remodeling of the SAFV shelter and funding the Sitka Police Department’s hiring of a detective dedicated to domestic violence investigations.

Hemlock branches covered in herring roe- Sitka Tribe of Alaska head of resource protection Jeff Feldpausch says that last year’s record low subsistence harvest was a deciding factor in STA’s decision to sue the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, demanding an injunction on the fishery (Photo/Sitka Tribe of Alaska)

The Sitka Tribe went into more detail today (Wednesday 12-18-18) about the lawsuit filed last week against the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and Board of Fish, calling for the state to intervene before the 2019 Sitka sac roe herring fishery. STA leadership spelled out their frustrations with state management, and offered some ideas for assuring the future success of both commercial and subsistence herring fishing in Sitka Sound.

Downloadable Audio

After years of petitioning the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, calling for more a sustainable Sitka sac roe herring fishery, the Sitka Tribe of Alaska last week filed a lawsuit against ADF&G and the Alaska State Board of Fisheries. But why this year? And why not file an emergency petition through the Board of Fish? Sitka Tribe of Alaska chair KathyHope Erickson says that the tribe has been down that road before.

“We’ve been testifying before the board of fish for a couple of decades now at least, and it hasn’t gotten us very far,” Erickson said. “It’s getting to be such a dire situation.”

Jeff Feldpausch, head of resource protection, says that last year’s record low subsistence harvest combined with decisions made at the 2018 Board of Fish meeting in Sitka were the “straw that broke the camel’s back.”

“I would say over the last four or five years we’ve been putting out extra effort, extra sets, that kind of thing, and getting less back for that effort. Things weren’t getting better they were getting worse, and I think it just motivated the tribe to take it to the next level,” he said.

So they decided to pursue another avenue, and, represented by the Anchorage law firm Landye Bennet Blumstein, they’re calling for the state to intervene before the 2019 fishery begins, requiring ADF&G to develop a fishery management plan. If that happens, STA has an idea of what they’d what the plan to look like.  STA General Manager Lisa Gassman says tribal representatives drafted a subsistence management plan earlier this fall with 5 key stipulations.

“Some of the things that the tribe indicated would need to be in that plan, were for the Department of Fish and Game to not open the commercial fishery until the minimum threshold was confirmed present with on the ground surveys and  first spawn observed in Sitka Sound through aerial and deposition surveys,” she said.

They also want preseason meetings between the Tribe and state to discuss management concerns, as well as in-season consultations to discuss harvest rates and fishing conditions. If a test fishery is required, they want that to be a less-disruptive jig fishery rather than seining. And finally, they want the state to consider an emergency closure in the 2019 fishery if things aren’t looking good.

And Feldpausch says the Tribe wants to revisit the harvest limits they proposed at the 2018 Board of Fish meetings.

“I don’t know that we’re asking for it definitively in the plan, but I know at the last Board of Fish meeting we did ask for that reduction in the harvest rate from 12-20 percent sliding scale down to a 10 percent harvest rate like we do the rest of the stocks in Southeast.”

Gassman says Tribal representatives met with ADF&G in Juneau in October. They presented their subsistence plan.

“That wasn’t successful,” she said. “The department wasn’t willing to consider those, what we thought were important things moving forward for the 2019 fishery.”

Both Erickson and Feldpausch say that considering these practices in a fishery management plan wouldn’t just help the herring, the environment, or the subsistence harvesters. There’s a commercial incentive as well.  

“I think it may even help the industry a bit. There’s been quite a glut of roe in the market. It’s kept prices depressed for several years,” he said. “Putting less roe on the market might drive those prices up. So the industry may make as much money as they have on a larger fishery with just harvesting less fish.”

“Personally, I’m totally for commercial fishery,” Erickson said. “My own grandpa was a commercial fisher for years and I just feel strongly that we’re in their ball court too, we’re doing this for them too,” she continued. “It’s a holistic thing. We’re not just using a microscope and looking in one direction. We’re doing this for everybody.”

As yet there is no official reply to the Tribe’s suit, which was filed in Sitka Superior Court on December 11. But state fishery managers have long suspected the dispute would end up in court. So far, they’ve stood by the forecast model that’s been used for over three decades. In previous reporting, area management biologist Eric Coonradt has said, “Unless we had a biological concern, we couldn’t close this fishery ourselves.”

Downloadable audio.

Sitka Tribe of Alaska decided to split the $50,000 grant down the middle.  $25,000 will boost the traditional foods program, helping tribal citizens harvest more traditional foods like deer and herring roe, pictured above. (Photo/KCAW/Ed Ronco)

Earlier this spring, the Sitka Tribe of Alaska was awarded $50,000 from Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) as a part of the “Healthy Is Here” grant program. The Tribe plans to send kids to summer camp with part of the money, and support its traditional foods program with the rest.

Downloadable Audio

SEARHC awarded $50,000 to each of the 15 tribes that are part of the SEARHC consortium, for a total of $750,000. Martha Pearson, director of health promotions, says the “Healthy Is Here” program- the brainchild of CEO Chuck Clement- is a way for SEARHC to invest extra funds back into the communities it serves.

“Over the years, we’ve worked with different communities on how to best foster a healthy environment for the people who live there,” said Pearson. “Mr. Clement thought, let’s just put the resources in the hands of the local communities to decide for themselves what they’d like to do to foster health in the local communities. They can be creative with it, they can tailor it to their specific needs.”

Sitka Tribe decided to split that money down the middle, awarding $25,000 to the Social Services department. That money will fund summer youth scholarships. Melonie Boord of STA’s social services department said tribal citizens can apply for the scholarships offered at $250 per child to help fund a summer camp experience.

“Whether that be swimming camps, summer camps, fine arts camps, whatever supervised camp is available to our youth,” Boord said.

The other $25,000 was allocated to the Resource Protection department to support the Traditional Foods program — covering field cost, staff cost, maintenance and subsistence supplies. Resource Protection Director Jeff Feldpausch said he hopes the funds will allow them to bring in more subsistence food.

“It’s definitely a shot in the arm to the program,” Feldpausch said. “I know the last couple of years we’ve been spending a lot more staff time and fuel chasing herring around the sound, so at the end of the year it kind of leaves us a little short on funds to harvest deer and do that kind of thing later in the season.”

SEARHC plans to offer “Healthy Is Here” grants annually. Applications for youth summer camp scholarships are available at the Sitka Tribe of Alaska Social Services department.