BB-RSDA Releases the "Long List" of Projects Up For Possible Funding

The Board of Directors for the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association will meet later this week to whittle down the list of projects that might garner funding this year. The BB-RSDA is made up of all of the driftnet permit holder who fish each summer in Bristol Bay. Permit holders give the Association 1-percent of the value of their catch to fund the Association and to help pay for projects intended to help the salmon fishery in the Bay. The long list of projects under consideration was released Monday in advance of this week’s meeting. Several of the projects were submitted by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. For instance the Department is seeking a total of $435-thousand dollars over 5-years to pay for a project that would allow the Department to sample sockeye caught in the setnet fishery in the Egegik District. If approved the Department would collect age, sex, length, and stock composition data. In the information submitted to the BBRSDA the Department notes that the data could help produce a more accurate run estimate and determine if the stock composition in the setnet and driftnet fisheries are similar. The Department of Fish and Game is also looking for $400-thousand dollars in funding over the next 5-years to extend the operation of the counting towers for one week a season on the Ugashik, Egegik, Naknek, Kvichak, Wood and Igushik Rivers. In the information submitted to the RSDA the Department notes that the funding would permit the counting towers to begin operation a week early to determine if significant numbers of early fish are present in the various rivers. The 3rd proposal put forward by Fish and Game asks for $30-thousand dollars to upgrade the hardware and software used to sample salmon. Another of the proposals put forward to the BBRSDA Board of Directors comes from the Bristol Bay Heritage Land Trust. The Trust is asking for $25-thousand dollars to fund a second printing of the “Sailing for Salmon” book and to fund a tour of the “Sailing for Salmon” exhibit in Oregon, Washington and California. Another project submitted for possible funding is the annual Port Moller Test Fishery. The Bristol Bay Science and Research Institute, which is a subsidiary of the Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation, is asking the RSDA for $40-thousand dollars to help run the test fishery this year. That’s just a fraction of the total project cost, which is estimated at $206-thousand dollars. The members of the board of directors for the BB-RSDA will meet Friday and Saturday in Seattle to discuss and evaluate the long list of projects. It’s anticipated the Board will whittle down the list and then will make a final decision on project funding at a meeting in February.