At the 34th Annual Alaska Resources Conference, RDC board member Tom Barrett, President of Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, and Mayor David Cobb of Valdez, summarized their combined near 60 years of experience with the development of working relationships between commercial and sport fisheries and oil terminal operation in Valdez. It was a great panel and I’d like to expand on the unique Alaska phenomenon that has taken place not only in Valdez but Cook Inlet as well.
A snapshot of collaboration is easy to imagine. Against a background of the Petro Star Refinery, adjacent to the Solomon Falls salmon hatchery, which in turn is adjacent to the Valdez Terminal, on the opening day there will be 100 salmon seiners in the inner harbor making sets for pink salmon. Scheduled openings occur until mid-August, when the seine fleet is replaced with an even larger number of sport boats fishing for coho on the other side of the harbor, and down the coast. The only commercial seiners visible are those that are tied to the floats in the boat harbor.
A gentlemen’s agreement has been in place for many years that is embedded in the management strategy of the Valdez Fisheries Development Association, which operates under the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s (ADFG) approved management plan, that governs sport and commercial harvests of coho. It simply states: “ADFG manages the port of Valdez to reduce conflicts between commercial and sport user groups by excluding commercial fishing within the Port of Valdez and the Valdez Narrows from August 15 to Labor Day.”
Collaboration between oil and gas and fisheries in maritime waters in Alaska began as early as 1964 near Kenai in Cook Inlet, with the beginning of oil and gas production from the first offshore platform. Since then, over 16 billion barrels of oil has travelled through TAPS and for Cook Inlet, 1.3 billion barrels of oil and trillions of cubic feet of gas have been produced. Taxes paid by oil and gas companies over this period of time comprise over 90 percent of State revenue and Alaska has become the most tax-free state in the Union.
At the same time, salmon resources utilized by Alaskan residents, both sport, commercial and subsistence harvesters, continue to yield healthy surpluses that provide both personal enjoyment and economic stimulus in coastal communities throughout Southcentral Alaska.
In Cook Inlet, over 550 salmon drift gill net and 660 set net salmon businesses still work hard to harvest world quality salmon in the shadow of their oil and gas industry neighbors. In fact, it is not uncommon to see an oil tanker jog near drift gillnetters as they prepare to call at the Kenai Pipeline dock in Nikiski. Another amazing scene is the occasional LNG ship calling at the ConocoPhillips LNG export dock as a set net skiff of young Alaskans heads to the beach after picking nearby salmon set nets.
In 1977 in Prince William Sound and the Port of Valdez, with the opening of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and the Valdez Terminal, lifestyles forever changed with increased vessel traffic and fears of conflict among industries. Despite the tragic Exxon Valdez oil spill and the challenges of lingering effects, this year the commercial pink salmon harvest was a near record 25 million fish. In addition, 400,000 coho returned after being incubated and released by the hatchery for Alaskan sport fishermen.
On the seafood industry side of the balance sheet in the Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound region alone, a 2013 Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute report shows $430 million worth of seafood was harvested in 2011 (in first wholesale, export value terms). The seafood industry directly employs in the region an estimated 10,500 individuals and generates an estimated $164 million in labor income. When indirect and induced impacts are taken into account, the total number of workers increases by an additional 7,600 and the payroll is an estimated $304 million.
Over the years, the oil production and transportation industry and shippers have successfully utilized the knowledge of local fishermen in developing strategies and systems to combat marine oil spills. In addition, local knowledge of communities and stakeholders are channeled through industry sponsored Regional Citizen Advisory Councils in both Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound as response plans are developed and resources are allocated to both prevent and respond to potential oil spills in the waters fishers rely upon for their livelihood.
Today, state fish managers are challenged with managing increased demand for salmon by Alaskans and visitors. Impacts to habitat and quality of fishing experience require difficult decisions that impact individual opportunities. These decisions, as difficult as they may be, are universally recognized as necessary for the long term health of our salmon resources. The Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet fisheries have established paths of cooperation so each can manage the challenges of working in shared waters, with an eye on their own but not exclusive resource-based businesses. This approach demonstrates how today’s challenges can be met in a way that allows all of Alaska’s natural resource users and industries to return great benefits to their communities for many generations to come.
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