Cook Inlet salmon buyback up for debate again

摘要

A bill to enable eastside Cook Inlet salmon setnetters to voluntarily sell their permits, reducing the size of their fleet, is once again before state lawmakers in Juneau this legislative session.Alaska Senate President Peter Micciche, a Cook Inlet drift gillnet fisherman, prefiled the bill in early January before the session kicked off on Jan. 19. A Republican representing Soldotna and Kenai, Micciche said the goal of Senate Bill 29 is to reducethe number of setnet permits by 200, allowing those remaining in the fleet to have a more viable economic future."My interest is preserving the fishery and ensuring that our kids and grandkids will continue to carry it on," Micciche told Pacific Fishing.