Alaska’s halibut and sablefish fisheries are now having low-interest federal loan opportunity to help new entrants buy shares of the fish. The loans are funded by a fee of up to 3 percent of the dockside value of the catch. According to the information seventy-five percent of the total goes to recover management and enforcement costs; 25 percent supports the loan program.
For this loan program fishermen are eligible for 80 percent of the purchase price of quota shares, to be paid back for up to 25 years at a low interest rate, currently 6.5 percent. The catch share plan for Bering Sea crab was designed the same way. But five years later, loans to buy crab poundage aren’t even on the books.
Leo Erwin, Chief of Financial Services at NOAA Fisheries headquarters, informed that the rule-making, unfortunately, has taken considerably longer than we had initially thought. He further said that they had the proposed rule, it’s been drafted, and it has been in the clearance process for some time. Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski is credited with obtaining $16 million for Alaska’s combined catch share loan programs, and the loan authority for crab is there.
Jim Stone, a lifelong Bering Sea crabber, said he is frustrated by the federal foot-dragging, and it has prevented crews from buying crab poundage. He was disappointed when the existing crew loan program for halibut and sablefish has a near-zero default rate. He added that the crabbers would ask them to pay 50 percent on a small amount, and the other 50 percent we would loan over a seven- to 10-year period. The idea is that they would lease it onboard our own boat.
