Alaska Charter Association

To Protect the Rights and Conserve the Resources of Alaska's Sport Fishery
Alaska Charter News 
October 2018: 

ACA Members Renew Your Membership Dues October
Federal Rule Opens Path for Charter Industry
North Council Targets Boat Rentals
Winners in Raffle 
ACA Weighs in on Hatcheries
ACA Members Renew Membership Dues October

Our By Laws call for Membership Renewals every October 1. We'll be dropping ACA members a line as a reminder soon. Renew right away by using our sign up form.

On a shoestring budget, the Alaska Charter Association shows up when you can't, where the decisions are made. Things don't always go our way -- we win some and lose some. 

Without your support and ACA's action in the past two decades, the Alaska Charter Industry would have lost millions of dollars in revenue (according to NOAA data). 

Doing nothing does not work. Join scores of businesses and hundreds of permitted charter vessels and be part of the solution. Help  build  on recent successes:
  • Working with the North Council to Create the RQE
  • First Charter Captain, Richard Yamada, Appointed to the IPHC
  • Funding Improved Science for a Better Fishery
Full charter ACA members have voting privileges in our annual elections for the Board of Directors. Your business receives a link on the ACA website to yours. Clients look for charter captains engaged in conservation and the management process to defend the rights of recreational fishermen in Alaska. They find them listed on our website.


Federal Rule on RQE 

Passed by the North Council last December, the federal government has finally published the rule making for the Recreational Quota Entity. Years of effort produced this industry-supported proposal, the first in the country. If you've just heard about the RQE, you can read more in this article recently published by the Alaska Journal of Commerce . Catch up with the ACA Charter News Blog.  You can read the rule for the RQE in the Federal Register here.



Council Targets Boat Rentals

The registration of rental boats is still being mulled over by the North Pacific Management Council. Currently, halibut caught recreationally by unguided anglers these rentals are not actively managed other than being counted as non-charter halibut landings in the state's dockside and mail-in surveys. 

The action memo states, "Total recreational halibut harvest declined in areas 2C and 3A from 2003 to 2016. In area 2C, the guided harvest declined while the unguided harvest, although variable, remained near 1 million pounds from 2003- 2016. In 2011, the proportion of halibut caught by unguided anglers in area 2C exceeded the proportion caught by guided anglers for the first time. This may explain the perception that unguided catch is increasing despite the overall stability shown in catch data. Both guided and unguided halibut catch declined in area 3A from 2003-2016. The proportion of halibut caught by unguided anglers has remained at approximately 40% of the total sport catch in area 3A from 2003-2016."

If you provide rental fishing boats to clients who target halibut, you may want to spend an evening by the fire reading the full discussion paper here.

No action will be taken at this meeting, but as the discussion progresses the options will narrow. The Advisory Panel will take it up on Friday, October 5th, and the Council will be taking testimony on the rental boat issue on Monday, October 8th, at 1pm, but their scheduling may change - details here
.

http://alaskacharter.blogspot.com/2018/09/council-to-review-state-of-rules-for.html


Alaska Premier Charters, Inc. / Wild Strawberry Lodge Completes Raffle Benefit for ACA!

 And the Winners Are...

Congratulations to the four raffle drawing winners of our Fundraiser for the Alaska Charter Association - Permit #3064. The drawing took place on September 3rd, 2018 at the Lodge.

1st Prize: Peter Green won a 3 Day/4 Night Fishing & Lodging Package for two persons with a $5,990 value!

2nd Prize: Mike Henry won a 2 Day/3 Night Fishing & Lodging Package for two persons with a $4,150 value!

3rd Prize: Glenda Holloway won a $2,000 credit to be applied to her fishing trip

4th Prize: LaDene Haze won a $1,000 credit to be applied to her fishing trip

For everyone who bought raffle ticket(s), we truly thank you for your support of the Alaska Charter Association. Congratulations to the Winners! We hope we can do this again in the future.

ACA thanks Theresa Weiser, her family and crew, for the critical financial support and generous donations to the raffle. You can find out more about Alaska Premier Charters / Wild Strawberry Lodge here:
Pink Predators?

The Kenai River Sportfishing Association has requested a review of potential overproduction at pink salmon hatcheries in Alaska. Many of us are concerned that hundreds of millions of pink fry are outcompeting other species, especially king salmon, in ocean waters.

Biologists confirm a correlation between high pink years and low king years. While this doesn't prove hatchery overproduction is the cause, it is time to pause any future increase in pink salmon hatchery production until we better understand the relationship.

The ACA has submitted a comment letter for the AK Board of Fish meeting in Anchorage October 16, and  you can sign a similar letter of comment by October 3rd by using KRSA's handy email form.

Here's the letter ACA submitted:



  • Because you can improve fishing opportunity for your clients.
  • Because you have a voice at fishery meetings that change your future. 
  • You belong to the Alaska Charter Association.
If your dreams include flying scales and full fish totes, you 
need the Alaska Charter Association to inform, educate, and fight for you  
at these important fisheries meetings. 

It's easy :