When is Fishing a Crime?
“If I got the means to do it, I will do it,” Phillip said. “Even if you are breaking the law?” asked his lawyer, James Davis Jr. “Well, if it comes down to feeding my family, yes,” Phillip answered. A radio report from KYUK in Bethel made me pull over the Subaru this week. I was listening to the story of Bethel fishermen being prosecuted by the state of Alaska for subsistence fishing during a state-ordered closure. This was Les Misérables, Alaskanized. Last summer these Native fishermen defied a fishery closure to catch salmon to feed their families. The…
“The Hell With Sarah Palin” – An Update from Emmonak
Last week Governor Sarah Palin sent a series of messages from her Twitter account regarding the subsistence fishing situation in Western Alaska. “Good news!” we were told. AKGovSarahPalinGood update re Rural Advisor John Moller’s recnt Emmonak trip, great news he reports; we’ll twitter assuming press won’t pick up good news.about 3 hours ago from TwitterBerry John Moller was in the Western Alaskan village of Emmonak to discuss the topic on everyone’s mind – salmon. Salmon are the primary subsistence food, and primary income source for residents of the Lower Yukon River. Big problems, starting with the mismanagement of fisheries have caused…