Elizabeth Dubovsky, the interim executive director, expressed that on April 23 in Petersburg, the informative meeting will make the case for taking 1 percent levy from Southeast gillnetters in order to fund Rainforest Wild. Dubovsky opined that the hope is to update gillnet fishermen in all of Southeast and Petersburg specifically on the Southeast Alaska Regional Seafood Development Association (RSDA).
She also told that they want to explain what regional development associations are, how they work, and how they can benefit gillnetters in Southeast Alaska. She also said that it would create the seed money needed to then have Rainforest Wild go and access federal dollars, grants, and other opportunities to help gillnetters in Southeast Alaska. With that money, RSDA could help fund things like new infrastructure development and marketing and promotional materials. It could also go to just helping fishermen cut operations costs. Ultimately it will be up to the gillnetters to decide.
It is told that Rainforest Wild began in Wrangell when a group of drift gillnet fishermen applied with the state to establish an RSDA for the Southeast/Yakutat region back in 2005. The group has since expanded to include representatives from Petersburg, Ketchikan, Juneau, and Haines. According to Elizabeth Dubovsky a positive vote for the 1 percent levy would set into place an organization that is similar to what is seen in other parts of the state. Copper River and Bristol Bay have similar regional development associations and the money coming into them totals about $1 million a year.
