Assembly unanimously adopts resolution opposing Alaska Board of Fisheries Proposal 156 after local testimony

The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously to adopt a resolution opposing Proposal 156, an Alaska Board of Fisheries proposal scheduled for consideration Jan. 28–Feb. 9, 2025.

Before the vote, commercial fisherman Max Warhatch addressed the assembly during the agenda-related public comment period and urged the borough to oppose the proposal. “This proposal, in my opinion, should not even have been accepted by the Board of Fish,” Warhatch said. He argued Proposal 156 would cut chum and pink salmon production by 25%, which he said would harm hatchery operations and the wider seafood economy that supports Petersburg’s gillnetters, seiners, trollers and seafood processors.

Warhatch told the assembly the proposal’s proponent lives in Fairbanks and that any production reductions would disproportionately affect coastal communities and “cultural communities that rely on salmon for their livelihood, recreation, and subsistence.” He also argued that hatchery permitting and management are the responsibility of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and that a regulatory reduction should proceed through science-based department processes rather than the Board of Fisheries.

The assembly referenced a letter from the Southern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association requesting action. After brief assembly consideration, the motion to adopt the resolution was made and seconded; the roll call vote was recorded as unanimous.

The resolution directs borough leadership to send a letter opposing Proposal 156 to the relevant state process and certifies that the borough supports Southeast hatcheries in their request for the assembly’s position to be known at the upcoming Board of Fisheries meetings.

No ordinance or expenditure was associated with the vote; the assembly’s action is a formal statement to be transmitted to the state process.