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Petersburg Assembly urges action on sea otter management; amends resolution to allow take by Alaskan license-holders, passes 4-1
Summary
The Petersburg Borough Assembly passed Resolution 2025-17 urging immediate action on sea otter management to restore shellfish fisheries and subsistence harvests. The assembly removed a reference to the Shellfish Preservation Alliance and adopted an amendment stating sea otters may be taken by any Alaskan resident with a valid hunting license; the
The Petersburg Borough Assembly on Sept. 15 passed Resolution 2025-17 urging state and federal authorities to take immediate action on sea otter management to support commercial shellfish fisheries and subsistence harvests. The assembly approved the resolution, as amended, by a 4-1 vote.
Vice Mayor Marsh disclosed a potential conflict of interest because of family ties to commercial crabbing and initially asked whether she should participate. The assembly voted to allow Marsh to participate and to vote.
Member Marsh moved to strike the paragraph that referenced the Shellfish Preservation Alliance, which she said appeared to be an organization formed in 2017 that is no longer active. That amendment — to remove the paragraph referencing the Shellfish Preservation Alliance and “similar organizations” — was moved by Vice Mayor Marsh, seconded by Member Newman, and passed on roll call (yes from Schwartz, Stanton Gregor, Newman, Marsh and Mayor Jensen).
Vice Mayor Marsh later proposed and successfully moved a separate amendment to add language stating "sea otters may be taken by any Alaskan resident with a valid hunting license." Member Newman seconded that amendment. Member Stanton Gregor opposed the amendment on legal grounds, saying it would be "in violation of federal law" under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, and therefore he could not support it. The amendment passed on a roll call vote, 4-1 (Newman: yes; Schwartz: yes; Marsh: yes; Jensen: yes; Stanton Gregor: no).
Member Schwartz, drawing on decades of commercial crabbing experience, described a long-term, exponential increase in the sea otter population and said local crabbers had expected recurring environmental and economic impact studies that did not occur. Schwartz cited, in discussion, a past estimate that the sea otter population exceeded 80,000 (the speaker did not provide a source document for that figure during the meeting).
After debate, the assembly voted on the amended main motion. The resolution passed on a roll call vote, 4-1, with Member Stanton Gregor recorded as opposing. The assembly did not adopt any additional regulatory authority; the resolution is a formal statement requesting state and federal coordination and action, and it includes the two amendments described above.
Several assembly members and public commenters said the resolution was intended to send a clear message to state and federal authorities about local impacts on subsistence users and commercial fishermen. Members also noted legal constraints; Member Stanton Gregor and at least one other member said changes allowing non-Native take could conflict with the Marine Mammal Protection Act and would require federal action or clarification from the borough’s federal delegation.
The clerk recorded the resolution as Resolution 2025-17. The assembly concluded no further amendments and adjourned after final business.
