Why not let us NR pay for the second halibut?

[kgpcr]

Ok here is an idea i posted before but i think it has merit. This would be for NR fishing lic. Why not put a surcharge of 5.00 for a one day lic. 15.00 for a two week lic and 30.00 for a yearly lic. Also asign a per pound fee for bycatch. That would help address the elephant in the room. Take that money and BUY out some comfish IFQ's for halibut. Do NOT resell them. To buy the IFQ's simply do a reverse auction where you start out at 1.00 a pound and keep goin up in price until some one sells. no one would be forced to sell. Granted it may take a while to really impact the fishery but it would over time. No one would be forced out. fewer commercial halibut would be on the market driving the price up so that would be good for the comfish fleet. I think it would be good for all inolved. It would be a pretty pain free way to keep more halibut in the ocean. It would also be an incentive to cut bycatch. BUY back the IFQ's and NOT Lease them so it would be a forever fix.

[Alasgun]

Not to be rude, but if the NR stays home the problem goes away!

[avidflyer]

Not to be rude, but if the NR stays home the problem goes away!

Rep point added LOL! So the OP wants to take away from one commercial fishery, and give it to another??? The IFQ took away a ton of fish opprotunities from the commercial guys already and put a huge amount of them out of the business. I know the small quota I got (due to a few years of bad weather and health issues) made it unfeasable for me to fish any longer.

[Muttley Crew Fishing]

Not to be rude, but if the NR stays home the problem goes away!

Not to be rude, but if the NR stays home a lot of towns in AK go bankrupt. How many millions of dollars does the tourist industry inject into our economy every year?

[Alasgun]

A bunch of the tourist service industry, aka "guides" are NR's themselves!

Like I said about the problem, and hey; I know my opinion isn't going to change anything but a fellow has to ask just how much can Alaska absorb?

Before long we'll be stocking cook inlet like some okie cat fish lake, just so an NR can catch a fish!

[kgpcr]

So the OP wants to take away from one commercial fishery, and give it to another??? The IFQ took away a ton of fish opprotunities from the commercial guys already and put a huge amount of them out of the business. I know the small quota I got (due to a few years of bad weather and health issues) made it unfeasable for me to fish any longer.

You dont get at all what i am saying. NO ONE would be forced out. NOT ONE PERSON. They dont have to sell if they dont want to. NO ONE WOULD TAKE ANYTHING. IF they dont feel like selling then dont. You just keep your IFQ and keep on fishing. In fact those that stayed in would make more off of their catch.

[kgpcr]

Not to be rude, but if the NR stays home the problem goes away!

Alasgun
I bet that is what the native alaskans are saying about you.

[Akheloce]

Not to be rude, but if the NR stays home a lot of towns in AK go bankrupt. How many millions of dollars does the tourist industry inject into our economy every year?

And how many tens of millions of $$ do we spend to entice tourists every year... Umm Homer deep water dock anyone?

[Muttley Crew Fishing]

A bunch of the tourist service industry, aka "guides" are NR's themselves!

Yeah, so....? They are injecting money into our economy just like "real" Alaskans do. A large majority of people that now call AK home were once NR's just like me, so making a statement like, "...if the NR stays home the problem goes away!" is rude and frankly incorrect.

[Muttley Crew Fishing]

And how many tens of millions of $$ do we spend to entice tourists every year... Umm Homer deep water dock anyone?

Obviously a lot less than the tourists pour into our economy each year.

[Akheloce]

I disagree

[Muttley Crew Fishing]

I disagree

LOL! I'm sure the AK Div. of Economic Development would disagree with you, but we'll just leave it at that.

[Alasgun]

Just how bored does a fellow have to be to keep up the fight on two similar named threads, at the same time?

Having only joined into one of them, I must only be half bored!!

I do have to end this though and finish getting the boat ready so that my next time home, I can acomodate the NR's. (if they show up) We'll be doing a cost sharing, fish sharing win, win thing. May even sing a round of kumbaya as we head out of the Homer harbor!

[Muttley Crew Fishing]

Just how bored does a fellow have to be to keep up the fight on two similar named threads, at the same time?

Having only joined into one of them, I must only be half bored!!

I do have to end this though and finish getting the boat ready so that my next time home, I can acomodate the NR's. (if they show up) We'll be doing a cost sharing, fish sharing win, win thing. May even sing a round of kumbaya as we head out of the Homer harbor!

If you're talking about me, it's certainly not boredom. I'm in the laborious process of rebuilding my logo and I keep my internet connection open all the time when I'm on my computer so I have a little diversion every once in a while. It's nice being your own boss. I sure would prefer to be out on the water fishing, but I also have a business to run, so when you come right down to it I'm actually working.

BTW---I'm not overly fond of Kumbaya.

[bonanza]

And how many tens of millions of $$ do we spend to entice tourists every year... Umm Homer deep water dock anyone?

I believe the deep water dock was originally built as a deal that would have Oceantrawl Inc. homeported here. Boondoggle

[kasilofchrisn]

I tend to agree with Alasgun on this one. Even though that isn't really practicle.
On a more serious note Why can't we tax the heck out of the tourists like we do the oil companies?
A bed tax is a good start for the state to implement. A per fish tax ain't a bad idea either.IMHO
Since the ACES tax plan increases the tax on oil companies at a rate of an additional 4% for every $10 increase in oil prices couldn't we tax the tourist industry the same way? For every 10# of fish they take/ship home over a certain base amount they pay an additional tax on a rising scale.
Many are convinced Tourism is vital to Alaskas economy. I know for a fact oil is vital to our economy and pays 90+% of our state budget. So lets tax the tourist like we do the oil companys on a rising scale.
I have heard it said if the oil companys don't like the ACES tax plan then get out. Well I will say the same thing for the tourists pay up or stay out.
What's fair is fair right?

[Muttley Crew Fishing]

I tend to agree with Alasgun on this one. Even though that isn't really practicle.
On a more serious note Why can't we tax the heck out of the tourists like we do the oil companies?
A bed tax is a good start for the state to implement. A per fish tax ain't a bad idea either.IMHO
Since the ACES tax plan increases the tax on oil companies at a rate of an additional 4% for every $10 increase in oil prices couldn't we tax the tourist industry the same way? For every 10# of fish they take/ship home over a certain base amount they pay an additional tax on a rising scale.
Many are convinced Tourism is vital to Alaskas economy. I know for a fact oil is vital to our economy and pays 90+% of our state budget. So lets tax the tourist like we do the oil companys on a rising scale.
I have heard it said if the oil companys don't like the ACES tax plan then get out. Well I will say the same thing for the tourists pay up or stay out.
What's fair is fair right?

If a NR wants an annual fishing license they pay about 600% of what residents pay. And a king stamp is 1000% of what residents pay. You don't think they're paying their fair share?

[kgpcr]

Just one small note here. The Halibut are not owned by Alaska. they are a owned by the people of the US. They are a federal resource.

[Fear Knot]

Muttley you are 100% right NRs do pay their fair share, they pay for over 75% of our wildlife/fish management. Its just a fact that many residents hate NRs, hunting guide's, and charters. It's all theirs but they sure don't want to make up the for the lost revenue for management. Just like the sheep thread it's all theirs, but they want it for free. We residents have it pretty **** lucky when it comes to what we pay to hunt and fish, but they will never change their minds and I think some of them look at things through a straw and not the big picture. Best of luck to you this fishing season and be safe.

[Alasgun]

You go Dude, by the way if you want to run for anything Chris; just let me know. I'm voting for you!!

Now on a serious note, how bout we open dipping up to the NR's, then they wont feel so compelled to "get there share of our Federal Resource". Then we can impliment a specie tax, adding it to your previously mentioned tax and maybe even an exit tax to send them home with. You know, I can't come up with enough taxes to equal what they're doing to the Oil companies. And backing up to my original statement, anyone can clearly see if the NR stays home a lot of problems are abated!

Mike