Young fishermen’s summit set for Dec. 6-8

Agenda topics range from marketing to operational safety of fishing vessels

Veteran Bristol Bay harvester Fritz Johnson is slated to deliver the keynote address on Dec. 6 as the Alaska Young Fishermen’s Summit gets underway at the Dena’ina Center in Anchorage.

Johnson, of Dillingham, serves on the Alaska Board of Fisheries and the board of the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association,

Also on the agenda for the three-day summit are sessions on Alaska’s role in seafood markets worldwide, the business of fishing, the science and management of Alaska fisheries, and the federal management process.

Following Johnson’s presentation, Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisor Program seafood marketing specialist Quentin Fong will lead a panel discussion with Johnson, Jeremy Woodrow of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, and Alyeska Resort chef Aaron Apling-Gilman on Alaska’s role in domestic and world markets and the importance of quality seafood.

Gabe Dunham of Alaska Sea Grant in Dillingham will lead the afternoon panel on the business of fishing, with commercial harvester Bruce Gabrys, Lea Klingert of the Commercial Fishing and Agriculture Bank, and Chris Trainer of Chinook Insurance.

Julie Matweyou of Alaska Sea Grant Kodiak will lead the morning panel on science and management on Dec. 7, with Gordon Kruse of the University of Alaska Fairbanks College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, and Gunnar Knapp, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Alaska Anchorage Institute of Social and Economic Research.

Advertisement

Also on the second day’s agenda are a talk by veteran harvester Dave Koduak on why and how young fishermen can get involved, and public speaking training, to help young fishermen learn how to make their testimony count, the latter led by Alaska Sea Grant’s Torie Baker of Cordova and Sunny Rice of Petersburg.

Forest Bower, deputy director of the Alaska Division of Commercial Fisheries will offer an introduction to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and present a mock session of the Alaska Board of Fisheries with Baker, Rice and Glenn Haight, director of the fisheries board.

Following that summit participants will take a field trip to the Anchorage Hilton to watch the North Pacific Fishery Management Council in action.

The third day will begin with breakout sessions on direct marketing, led by Sea Grant’s Terry Johnson; vessel maintenance, led by Sea Grant’s Gabe Duham, of Alaska Boats and Permits and Troy Tirrell, of Tirrell Marine Surveyors; and vessel stability and operational safety, led by Jerry Dzugan, of Alaska Marine Safety Education Association.

The summit will conclude with a second workshop on the business of fishing led by Dunham, with Gabrys, Klingert and harvester Jim Hubbard.

A U.S. Coast Guard-approved drill conductor course will be offered by the Alaska Marine Safety Education Association. A separate preregistration is required through www.amsea.org.

Advertisement