Dennis Cox and Al Burch, local fishermen, are circulating a petition that calls soaring fuel prices “crippling” and says fishermen need immediate help. Sara Stoner, Petersburg fisherman, fed up with the escalating fuel prices, started the petition several weeks ago. The movement of Sara was picked up by Southeast Alaska Fisherman’s Alliance director Kathy Hanson and forwarded to The United Fishermen Association. As the UFA is backing the petition it started to show up in fishing communities throughout the state, including Kodiak, where Al Burch said he collected more than 100 signatures in just a few days.
UFA executive director Mark Vinsel told that in Petersburg, they got over 300 signatures in a weekend and the petitions will be collected at the end of the month and forwarded to Alaska’s congressional delegation. He hopes that the petition will show not just Alaska’s congressional delegation, but all of Congress, that Alaska’s fishermen are hurting and in need of assistance.
According to Vinsel fishermen are not only frustrated at the rising costs of fuel, but also at Washington lawmakers for writing them out of the farm bill at the 11th hour. He said there are several ways that fishermen can cut fuel costs and one of those is with re-powering (their boats) with newer, more clean-burning, very-efficient Tier 2 diesel engines.
It is said that if diesel prices continue to rise, it might force smaller fishing vessels to tie up as many Kodiak boats did over the winter or get out of the fishing industry altogether. Linda Kozak, a fishery consultant with Kozak and Associates, informed that rising gas prices are hurting the large fishing vessel industry as well. Vinsel and other fishermen hope the petition will get the attention of those in Congress.
