Brent Johnson represented commercial fishermen in their allocation fights with sport fishermen. Now he’s trying to build a coalition for his confirmation to the Board of Fisheries. He said that he would bring an excellent ability to work with people. But if Johnson replaces Bonnie Williams from Fairbanks, there would be no representation on the board north of Big Lake, and no one from the Interior or the Bush.
And Johnson’s old antagonists from the Kenai are in Juneau this week reminding lawmakers of that. Ricky Gease with the Kenai River Sportfishing Association said that if this appointment goes through, then the Interior is lacking any representation whatsoever and next year the AYK meeting comes up with some very important issues on the Yukon dealing with Chinook salmon and other subsistence personal use and commercial fisheries there.
Gease opposing Johnson, who is supported by commercial fishing groups. Mark Vinsel with United Fisherman said if they are conscientious and really looking at Brent Johnson’s qualifications and have spoken with him, then Brent has a really good chance of being confirmed. He added that Brent is the best person to serve on the board of fisheries. Johnson says he has attended Board of Fisheries meetings for more than 20 years.
