According to the state officials the propose visit of fish commissioner to Yukon River villages is mainly to talk about the area’s struggling king salmon fishery. It is said that he will be available to answer questions about a controversial proposal he made as a member of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.
It is explained that Denby Lloyd will likely get an earful from the Yukon fishermen who rely on king salmon to supplement their incomes and feed their families. The local fishermen are not happy with the way the council works as it didn’t do enough to limit bycatch at its April meeting. Becca Robbins Gisclair with the Yukon River Drainage Fisheries Association, a fishermen advocacy group, said that bycatch in this case are king salmon accidentally caught at sea by the massive pollock industry.
It is told that the fishermen are also not satisfied with Lloyd introduced a measure at the meeting that would have made things even worse, if it had been approved by the council. Stefanie Moreland, a state employee whose primary role is supporting Lloyd on the council, said that many people don’t understand the council’s decision, and Lloyd is traveling in part to describe its finer points.
