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Home My WebLink AboutRes1978-003 r-- ---~~~ ~,--- ----.,..,,- - . :-23-73 ::3 ; ~.~~o JITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA RESOLUTION NO. 78-3 .A RESOLUTION URGING THE GOVERNOR AND LEGISLATURE TO RECOGNIZE THE SEVERE OVERCROWDING IN THE HARBORS OF ALASKA AND REQUESTING APPROVAL OF ADEQUATE BONDING FOR HARBOR EXPAN- SION AND IMPROVEMENTS, SUCH BONDING TO BE PRESENTED TO THE VOTERS OF THE STATE OF ALASKA THIS FALL WHEREAS, the Seward Small Boat Harbor currently has 550 slips with 1306 vessels registered in the harbor, and; WHEREAS, in mid-1977 there were over 300 boats on the waiting list, and; WHEREAS, the Small Boat Harbor is used by residents from many areas of the State, and; WHEREAS, most all other harbors throughout the State are similarly overcrowded, and; WHEREAS, the immediate potential exits for significant expansion of Alaska's commercial fishing industry, particularly in bottom fish, and; WHEREAS, Alaskan Small Boat Harbors cannot in their present sizes and conditions meet these new demands; , NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA, that we urge the Governor and Legislature to recog- nize the serious crowding in Alaskan harbors and that such recognition be followed with bonding adequate to meet the'much required expansion and improvement needs of Alaskan harbors, such bonding to be presented before the voters of the State of Alaska this fall, and; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a letter dated December 28, 1977, from Mark I. Hutton, Assistant Executive Director, North Pacific Fishery Management Council to Colonel George R. Robertson, Alaska District Engineer be attached to and made a part of this resolution. PAS'SED AND APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA, this 23rd day of January, 1978. CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA Hugli, Potts, AYES: Mott, Gillespie, Vincent NOES: None ABSENT: Leer, Campbell (~~ 7, 7f~--- Robert Mott Vice Mayor ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM: HUGHES, THORSNESS, GANTZ, POWELL & BRUNDI Attorneys for the City of Seward, Alaska LOvY'-m, TK_~ Susan M. Faust Acting City Clerk-Treasurer --1/_ ~h ..., 4 ~~V~/ Ranald H. Jarrell (City Seal) r - ~- ",-. , .. . .' 1m ~~ ~l ~ ~ro [[ rnJ Cily of Seward SmaIl Boat Harbor December 28, 1977 Colonel George Robertson Corps of Engineers Department of Army P. O. Box 7002 Anchorage, AK 99510 At the Annual Meeting of the State's Harbormasters I presented information on fisheries expansion and which they felt would be of interest to you. in Homer last month, related harbo~ impacts ~ I N Attn: Charles Welling Gentlemen: , . For your information, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) was created by the Fishery Conservation and }Ianagement Act of 1976 (FC}lA) (P.L. 94-265) and is one of eight Regional Councils charged with managing the fisheries resources of the United States out to 200 miles. The waters out to 200 miles off Alaska are the responsibility of the NPFMC. (Eighty percent of the foreign fishing effort off the'United States occurs off Alaska. Alaska also boasts the richest fishery for domestic fishermen in the United States as well as the number 2 and number 4 ports in terms of dollar landings.) Each Council determines the management quotas and strategies for its commercially harvested finfish and shellfish for both foreign and U.S. fishermen. " One of the purposes of the FCtlA is to encourage the development of the U.S. fishery for species currently not utilized or underutilized. This, in time, should bring about a gradual phase-out of all foreign fishing off Alaska. These trends and their shores ide impacts-some of which are occuring right now-will significantly effect the harbors of Alaska. Tvo dramatic examples of expanding commercial fisheries are the eastern Bering Sea herring and Bering Sea Tanner crab. In 1978 the U.S. harvest The clearest way to discuss these trends and what they mean is to look at two present-day, expallding fisheries and consider the prospects for the U.S. expansion into all fisheries off Alaska. 1 rf:(Q)[P>'1[ f" . . .., , .-.- - - ... . of herring in the Bering Sea will likely be 10,000 metric tons; In 1979 the harvest could be 20,000 metric tons. However, last year (1976) and the year before (1975) the harvest was 3,000 and 1,000 metric tons respectively. Although this expansion is not expected to involve a large number of new boats, it will involve the possible construction of small boats for use in the western Alaska area. This graphically depicts an emerging, new fishery. The major developing fishery is for Tanner crab ~ bairdi, in the Bering Sea. In 1978 the U.S. should harvest close to 90 million pounds in the Bering Sea alone. In 1977 the U.S. took approximately 50 million pounds; 21 million pounds in 1976; 6 million pounds in 1975, and less than I million pounds in 1974. This fishery and its requirements for catcher boats, processing plants and services is already impacting Alaska's major harbors. Nr. Thomas A. Casey, Nanager of the United Fishermen's Narketing Association in Kodiak has given me the following figures. There appear to be at, least 45 new boats due for delivery to Alaska during 1978 with most due by September 1. These boats are between 78 and 145 feet in length and designed to fish off Alaska ten months of the year. They will cost on the average of $1.4 million each. The following are some of the 'shipyards and the boats which are under construction or contract for delivery to Alaska. ~ Bender Boat yards 18 boats, valued at $23 million; Allied Shipyards 3 boats, greater than 96 feet; Halter ~rarine 3 boats, delivery in 1978' and 2 in 1979; ~ Quality l'larine 2 boats, greater than'78 feet, capable of crabbing, dragging, processing, and offshore oil supply; Atlantic Harine 4 boats, greater than 108 feet; Anacortes Boatworks 1 boat, 136 feet, catcher/ processor/oil supply; North\~est Poling Hilles 1 boat, 96 feet; " .~ , ~. ; ~ . -'~ Indiana Boat Works 2 boats, 145 feet, catcher/ processor/oil supply; CC~~y ~~ .........-.. .... -_.,- -.,. .--,,- .... _."-~ ._-~ , Mr: Casey has also told us that we should expect another 18-24 new boats during ,1979 for primarily the crab fisheries. This expansion is already causing serious problems of inadequate harbor space, conflicts of use. congestion, traffic problems and shores ide servicing. Keep in mind tqis is only the first phase in the two-part explanation of the possible impacts of the expansion of the U.S. fishery into the 200-mile zone off Alaska. Regarding the second phase, the Government and Agricultural Organization (GAO) estimates of the number of boats needed to displace the total foreign effort off Alaska are from 240 to 400 of the large modern stern-trawler class vessels. Off Alaska the importance of floating p~ocessing vessels is already becoming greater. This year approximately 1/3 of the entire Bering Sea King crab catch was delivered to floating processors. Port, facilities to handle just this class of boat are limited. It appears that Dutch Harbor, Chernofski, Akutan, St. Paul, Sand Point, 'Kodiak, Homer, Seward, Cordova, and possibly Petersburg and Sitka could be major centers of possible fisheries development. I would guess that each port is likely to experience grave problems in the form of traffic congestion, space available, and services, much the same as Kodiak is undergoing now. r It is also important to remember that the U.S. still harvests less than 20 percent of all the fish available off Alaska. In looking toward the day when all fisheries products are harvested by the U.S., it is safe to assume the impacts from catching, processing and the associated services might be greater than even short-term, oil-related impacts. Accordingly, several institutions are looking at these impacts. The Univers~ty of Alaska (Sea Grant Program) is assessing the impacts of commercial fishing and offshore oil related activities in the north Gulf of Alaska. The Coastal Zone Management Program is developing policy and use guidelines and several task forces are working on the selection and protection of marine sanctuaries/critical areas. It appears the impact lIas started and the major probiems of harbor design, size and operations, as well as shoreside competition for space, water and power are critical right now. The point is that current fisheries development and expansion off Alaska is already creating serious problems for Alaska's harbors. I believe this expansion is just the beginning and should serve to warn us of the real need to plan for this and future expansion and its related impacts. If you have 'any questions or wish to discuss this with us please give us a call. Sincerely, l1ill'k I. Hutton Assistant Executive Director ((~O ITSJW '-. ~ U U ' cc: Harbormasters - Dutch Harbor. Sand Point, Kodiak, Homer, Seward, Cordova, Petersburg & Sitka. Thomas A, Casey ~'.i!, < ~ . tl I' ': ;