” The seat is vacant until an appointment is made.”
Jeff Turner, Deputy Director of Communications
The state Board of Fisheries is meeting March 10-22 in Anchorage minus one member.
By March 14 Governor Mike Dunleavy still had not named a replacement for Indy Walton of Soldotna who resigned in December after serving just three months on the seven-member board.
Alaska law states that an appointment for a state board must be made in 30 days, but “the seat is vacant until an appointment is made,” said spokesman Jeff Turner.
The Fish Board is addressing 157 proposals that direct management of subsistence, commercial, sport and personal use fisheries proposals for Southeast and Yakutat.
Insiders say there is a ‘tug of war’ going on between Alaska legislators who insist that the vacant seat be filled with a commercial fisherman. Dunleavy wants another sport fishing rep.
Currently, there are no commercial fishing members on the board and only one of the six members hails from a coastal community – chair John Jensen of Petersburg.
