March 28, 2012
Lisa Jackson, Administrator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Ariel Rios Building
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20460
Dear Administrator Jackson,
As members of the U.S. commercial fishing and seafood industries, we know what happens when fisheries and watersheds are not cared for. We have watched the decline of too many fisheries due to loss of habitat, and we have seen that even billions of dollars cannot fully restore most of those fisheries following inappropriate development. All too often, attempts to reverse the damage are less effective and more expensive than prevention. Fishermen, and former fishermen, across the nation have experienced this. Until recently, such a fate seemed to await the salmon fishery of Bristol Bay, Alaska.
Therefore, we thank the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for starting a scientific assessment of the Bristol Bay, Alaska watershed. It is in places like Bristol Bay where our industry has the rare opportunity to maintain a resource and a fishery that is still healthy, and has the proven capacity to sustain thousands of fishing businesses — from small family-owned operations to some of the largest seafood companies in the country. Let’s protect this fishery, and do it right, while we still have the chance.
The EPA is not a traditional ally of our industry, but in this case, EPA acted with common sense and foresight. It is commendable when a government agency takes steps to thoroughly assess the vulnerabilities of a complex habitat before momentum builds for specific development plans.
As you know, Bristol Bay’s commercial salmon fishery is among the most productive and valuable of the nation’s fisheries. Any degradation to that fishery could be devastating for Bristol Bay fishermen and have a ripple effect throughout the country. We are united in our concern over the impacts to the fishery from large-scale developments such as the proposed Pebble Mine.
We support EPA’s scientific review of Bristol Bay. And, while we thank you for initiating this review process, we also ask that this study be considered a first step. The EPA has the authority under the Clean Water Act to invoke Section 404(c), which could bestow on Bristol Bay the protection it needs from the type of large-scale developments that can devastate fisheries, either through catastrophic events or chronic habitat degradation over time.
The undersigned commercial fishing organizations and businesses urge EPA to complete a thorough science-based assessment of Bristol Bay; and, if supported by that assessment’s results, apply its authority under Clean Water Act Section 404(c) to withdraw waters and wetlands in the headwaters of the Bristol Bay watershed from dredge and fill activity associated with large scale mining operations.
Sincerely,
Bob Waldrop, Executive Director
Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association
Anchorage, Alaska
Jim Edson, President
Alaska Independent Tenderman’s Association
Sitka, Alaska
Walt Pasternak, Executive Director
Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association
Sitka, Alaska
Steve Tvenstrup, President
United Cook Inlet Drift Association
Soldotna, Alaska
Steve Reifenstuhl, Executive Director
Southeast Herring Conservation Alliance
Sitka, Alaska
Dale Kelley, Executive Director
Alaska Trollers Association
Juneau, Alaska
Tom Rollman, President
Greater Nushagak Setnetter’s Association
Eagle River, Alaska
Kevin Brennan, Executive Director
Kodiak Regional Aquaculture Association
Kodiak, Alaska
Justin Martin, Owner
Prop Shop
Dillingham, Alaska
Mike Sparks, Owner
Alaska Net Supply Inc.
Dillingham, Alaska
Mark Munro, Captain
F/V Loki
Homer, Alaska
Luke Schwantes, Captain
F/V Sea Hag
Wasilla, Alaska
Everett Thompson, Owner
Naknek Family Fisheries
Naknek, Alaska
Wassillie Gust Jr. President
Stuyahok Limited
New Stuyahok, Alaska
Greta Horn, Captain
F/V Maddie C.
Anchorage, Alaska
Robert Gallimore, Captain
Commercial Fisherman
Naknek, Alaska
Scott Irons
F/V Sandy Point Maid
Sitka, Alaska
Donald H. Lee III, Owner
Third-Gen Holdings LLC
Fairbanks, Alaska
Brian Rutzer, President
Copper River/Prince William Sound Marketing Association
Cordova, Alaska
Ed and Olivia Flannery, Captains
F/V Anjelica Joy
Palmer, Alaska
David Harsila, Executive Director
Alaska Independent Fishermen’s Marketing Association
Seattle, Washington
Norman Van Vactor, Operations Manager
Leader Creek Fisheries, Inc.
Seattle, Washington
Sig Hansen, Captain
F/V NORTHWESTERN
Seattle, Washington
John McDonald, President
Ocean Run Seafoods
Seattle, Washington
Sue Dazey, Executive Director
Washington Trollers Association
Kingston, Washington
Brent Paine, Executive Director
United Catcher Boats
Seattle, Washington
Gregory B. Blakey, President
Snopac Products Inc.
Seattle, Washington
Randy Hartnell, President
Vital Choice Seafood
Bellingham, Washington
Scott Sinclair, Owner
Pacific Diving Enterprises
Kent, Washington
Fran Kaul, Owner
Misty Fjord Seafood
Winthrop, Washington
Michael A. Jackson, President
Grundens USA Ltd.
Poulsbo, Washington
George Jovanovich, President
Jovanovich Supply Co. Inc.
SeaTac, Washington
Darren Lobo, President
Matrix Marine Inc.
Darrington, Washington
Jack Giard, Executive Director
Washington Reef Net Owner’s Association
Nooksack, Washington
Janis Harsila, Manager
Puget Sound Salmon Commission
Seattle, Washington
Bob Alverson, General Manager
Fishing Vessel Owners Association
Seattle, Washington
Jeff Osborn, President
Dock Street Brokers
Seattle, Washington
Fred Marinkovich, President
Puget Sound Harvesters Association
Seattle, Washington
Kurt Ness, General Manager
Integrated Marine Systems
Seattle, Washington
Mike Painter, General Manager
The Permit Master
Anacortes, Washington
Brett Veerhusen, President
The Real Alaska, LLC
Seattle, Washington
Richard G Blanc, Manager
High Rock Fisheries
Mount Vernon, Washington
Mike Clark, President
Clark Fishing LLC
Cathlamet, Washington
Donald D. Martinson, Captain
F/V SHADOW
Edmonds, Washington
John Grocott, President
Grocott Fisheries LLC
Ilwaco Washington
David Dingle, Site Manager
LFS Inc.
Bellingham, Washington
Matthew Mardesich, Captain
Commercial Fisherman
Anacortes, Washington
Oregon Salmon Commission
F/V New Dawn
Newport, Oregon
Jim Wells, President
Salmon For All
Astoria, Oregon
Stephanie Mutz, President
Commercial Fisherman of Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Zeke Grader, Executive Director
Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations
San Francisco, California
Nechole Spale, Owner
Emerald Mountain Therapeutics
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Jim Ruhle, President
Commercial Fishermen of America
San Francisco, California
Ben Martins, Executive Director
Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association
Topsham, Maine
Maggie Raymond, Executive Director
Associated Fisheries of Maine
South Berwick, Maine
Monique Coombs, Executive Director
Lobsters on the Fly
Orrs Island, Maine
Jessica Hathaway, Editor in Chief
National Fisherman magazine
Portland, Maine
Lanny Dellinger, President
Rhode Island Lobstermen’s Association
Wakefield, Rhode Island
Patrice McCarron, Executive Director
Maine Lobstermen’s Association
Kennebunk, Maine
Christopher Brown, President
Rhode Island Commercial Fisherman’s Association
West Kingston, Rhode Island
Richard Fuka, President
Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance
East Greenwich, Rhode Island
Bill Adler, President
Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association Inc.
Scituate, Massachusetts
John Pappalardo, Chief Executive Officer
Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen’s Association
Chatham, Massachusetts
J.J. Bartlett, President
Fishing Partnership
Burlington, Massachusetts
Niaz Dorry, Coordinating Director
Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance
Gloucester, Massachusetts
Jared Auerbach, Owner
Red’s Best?Boston, Massachusetts
Angela Sanfilippo, President
Gloucester Fishermen’s Wife Association
Gloucester, Massachusetts
A. Michael Vlahovich
Coastal Heritage Alliance
St. Michaels, Maryland
Marc Bourgeois, Member
Ironworkers local 15
Bristol, Connecticut
Jack H Cox Jr, Owner
Crystal Coast Fisheries Inc.
Morehead City, North Carolina
Larry Simns, President
Maryland Watermen’s Association
Annapolis, Maryland
Heidi Dunlap, Owner
Wild Salmon Co
Asheville, North Carolina
Ted Universal, President
New York State Aquaculture Association
Geneseo, New York
Frank Blum, Executive Director
South Carolina Seafood Alliance
Charleston, South Carolina
Bob Jones, Executive Director
Southeastern Fisheries Association
Tallahassee, Florida
John Williams, Executive Director
Southern Shrimp Alliance
Tarpon Springs, Florida
Tj Tate, Executive Director
Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders Alliance
Galveston, Texas
CC:
Ken Salazar, Secretary, Department of Interior
Rebecca Blank, Acting Secretary , Department of Commerce
Nancy Sutley, Chair, Council on Environmental Quality
Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Administrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Bob Abbey, Director, Bureau of Land Management
John Jarvis, Director, National Park Service
Rowan Gould, Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Jo-Ellen Darcy, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works
Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senator from Alaska
Mark Begich, U.S. Senator from Alaska
