Rep. Louise Stutes, who represents Cordova in the Alaska State House, is spearheading a move to investigate the Alaska Board of Fisheries for actions she says are broadly characterized as unethical.
“In recent years, the board’s regulatory actions have been increasingly characterized as lacking transparency, unethical, and/or unlawful,” Stutes wrote in a legislative letter requesting a full audit of the board. “The breadth and frequency of stakeholder complaints about the board’s process make it clear the board has lost the public’s trust.”
Stutes, the chair of the House Special Committee on Fisheries, wrote that the state’s Legislative Budget & Audit Committee should investigate the board’s record of adhering to state fisheries statues regarding proposal and agenda changes, emergency petitions, and public transparency.
The move comes during one of the worst Prince William Sound fishing seasons in recent history.
“It’s going to have major effects on our taxable income revenue, there’s just going to be huge ripple effects,” Cordova City Council Member Mike Mickelson, who is also a fisher, said during the council’s meeting earlier this month.
“This is an unprecedented complete absence of pink salmon in Prince William Sound,” he added.
Alaska state lawmakers approved Stutes’ request for a full audit of the Board of Fisheries – the seven-member body appointed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy – earlier this week.
The state committee is slated to conduct an audit of all of the board’s actions from Oct. 12, 2023 through July 1, 2026.
