Kodiak’s Fish and Game Advisory Committee [AC] is moving forward with its rules following a public rift with committee members at a recent Board of Fish meeting.
The Kodiak committee advises the state Department of Fish and Game on local hunting and fishing. In a committee meeting last Tuesday, Feb. 27, one of the hot topics was the outcome of this winter’s Board of Fish meeting held in Kodiak, Jan. 9 – 12.
Ron Kavanaugh was part of a group of six members out of a total of 15 on the AC that sent a letter to the Board of Fish in January against the advisory committee’s support of a particular set net proposal. This would have increased salmon fishing opportunities for the gillnet fleet set but was ultimately voted down by the Board.
At an advisory committee meeting last week, Kavanaugh admitted he should not have confronted the Board of Fish that way.
“That was a big mistake mentioning AC [Advisory Committee] anywhere [in the letter]…But I don’t speak for AC. And that was a mistake I made when I signed it, not reading it thoroughly [the letter]. Because members of the Fish Board approached me about how my comments did not match how I voted. Well, I vote to bring it [proposal] going forward, not necessarily because I support it,” Kavanaugh explained.
Committee member Julie Kavanaugh, who was not present for last week’s meeting, sent comments to the AC Chair acknowledging her mistakes in signing the letter the same way Ron did.
In response, another AC member, Patrick O’Donnell, wanted the committee to have safeguards in the rules to prevent members from speaking for the advisory committee, rather than speaking for themselves as individuals, at a meeting of the Board of Fish.
“I think it should be included in the bylaws, so we can be clear on the direction forward here because I think what happened here in January undermines the credibility of the AC,” O’Donnell said. “And I spent 17 hours here talking about all that shit, and we’re screwed. And it’s not for me.”
After submitting the public letter of the six members of the advisory committee to the Board of Fish, the AC is looking into whether it may have violated the Open Meetings Act. According to Natalie Romo, the regional coordinator for AC, a representative from the Alaska Department of Law will be followed up by the committee on this issue. It was held that the actions of the committee members at the Board of Fish meeting did not violate the Open Meetings Act.
The committee did not take any specific action at last week’s meeting but the Chairman of the Advisory Committee said he plans to update the rules in the future. Currently, Kodiak AC Chair Paul Chervenak describes the group’s bylaws as a “work in progress.”
Chervenak also hopes to include a clear guideline in the rules for AC members holding designated seats to represent specific user groups – for example, a transporter holding a seat to represent sports fish charters and transporters.
In this regard, Alexus Kwachka offered to step down from his seat as a representative of the processors. His term does not expire until June of 2026. O’Donnell, who represents trawl setters, suggested that someone from the processing industry take Kwachka’s seat.
“You don’t have an assigned processor seat, and I didn’t feel that Joe should fill that seat. So if we don’t have an assigned seat filled by a processor, I think maybe it should go to a concerned citizen,” O’Donnell said.
Kwachka agreed with O’Donnell and said he didn’t take it personally. Other committee members said they reached out to individual processors and none of them expressed interest in being on the Kodiak Advisory Committee. If someone else comes forward to take Kwachka’s seat, the committee can hold an election to replace him at any time.
If a qualified candidate does not apply for the seat, AC Chair Chervenak said the rules may allow another willing candidate to represent the user group instead. For now, Kwachka will continue to hold the processor chair.
A public notice announcing the next Kodiak Advisory Committee meeting must be posted at least one week in advance through the State of Alaska’s online public notice site.
