Thursday's Sentinel reported that the Hatchery was denied an appeal by the USDA to reinstate the funding needed to continue operations for one year. The USDA cited SJ's financial instability as the reason for the denial. Dan Goodness pledged to volunteer his time to see the brood stock through, but whether the lights will stay on in Sage is another question.
The article also referenced the $1.2 million Dept. of Commerce grant, which needs a $300,000.00 match from SJ. Will SJ come up with the funds?
Another sticky issue with the Dept. of Commerce grant: it calls for a floating dock capable of handling small cruise ships. If past ballot initiatives are any indication, Sitkans will not support this piece. I'd hate to see the Hatchery's future jeopardized by combining its popular program with an unpopular dock effort.
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It would be ironic for the enviro community to watch their baby SJC go down the tubes because of their lack of support of a tour boat dock. No matter how big or small it is
Tour boat dock.....I can't believe how this can get so blown out of proportion. The original and main reason for the floating dock was to allow hatchery staff and fish culture students to walk out to the netpens and feed the fish, during the Spring Program, so that we didn't have to use the Silver Sled for every trip. This increases the safety margin, and allows more students at once to go out there quickly. Another purpose was to allow onshore access to small NOAA boats, doing research with the College. Another purpose is to allow a cost recovery seine boat to unload fish during high tide.
Is everyone familiar with the new floating dock at Starrigavin? The new floating dock proposed for the hatchery would be nothing more than something like that, only longer.
To Dan and Anonymous,
IF the official quoted in the Sentinel argument misspoke, then I believe the "enviro community" will continue to support the Hatchery. However, it was the staff, students, and faculty down in Sage that were most opposed to the concept of a "multipurpose dock" down at the Hatchery. Voters overwhelmingly passed an initiative giving them a say in passenger vessel docks greater than 300 feet, which this would be.
If Sheldon Jackson chooses to tie the fate of the Hatchery together with a cruise ship dock or lightering facility, than its fate is in question.
SJ would do this. After all, the original dock proposal in that space came from the very group running the place today.
Ironic or not, blown out of proportion or not, support for the Hatchery will be harder to come by if things go this way.
To Anonymous and Anonymous and in support of Dan.
have you ever seen a Map of the dock described in the grant proposal?
I produced these maps while I was working at SJ.
There is no way that the dock can be mistaken as a cruise-ship or vessel > 300 feet facility, it is simply to small.
To bad that Dr. Dobler forgot the maps at home when he was talking to the assembly about the project. But that shows the general grade of preparedness we had at many assembly meetings.
I do not question Dan’s intentions at all. I believe him when he states that the dock is not intended for tourism. However, this is the quote from the Sentinel:
“The official confirmed that the construction of a small dock was included in the proposal, but he emphasized it would not be large enough to accommodate large cruise ships. ‘There could be a tourism component, but we’re talking about smaller ships, maybe 60-70 people,’ the official said. ‘We do look at it as a multi-purpose dock’”.
What does this mean? It may mean nothing. It could also mean that, despite Dan’s and others’ intention, SJ has other plans for the space. Dobler supports a cruise ship dock there, we’ve heard rumors about lightering there, etc. If nothing comes of it, good. Until more is known, it’s a good idea to be skeptical. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice…
Dan..(Another purpose is to allow a cost recovery seine boat to unload fish during high tide.)Can you be more specific?
In the past, (before any wharf stucture / floating dock has ever been in place,) cost recovery seine boats would normally catch surplus salmon in our Special Harvest Area, and then run out to Baranof Frozen Foods, or run over to Sitka Sound Seafoods, and offload their catch. The fish would be processed by these companies, and the fisherman and the College would be paid for these fish, depending on the terms and conditions of a previously agreed upon contract. This past year, the College and the Fisherman split the money 50:50, which is a good deal for the fisherman!
If there is a future seafood processing building in place, where our present rundown spawning shed is now, and if there's a wharf/floating dock in place, then instead of running over to a seafood processor, the fisherman could unload the fish, or some of the fish, and then the fish would be processed in the new building; processed by students learning how to do seafood processing, students getting training for future jobs in seafood processing, at centers such as Sitka Sound Seafoods, or SPC, or Silver Bay Seafoods, or Baranof Frozen Foods. This is an important part of continuing the educational component of the hatchery program. Students wouldn't just learn about the cutting and slicing of fish, however. They would be taught how to maintain the equipment, how to sterilize the room properly (a requirement for food grade seafood processing), packaging, freezing, storage. Our program would assist in preparing workers for the seafood industry in Alaska and beyond.
The wharf is a tool, in this case, to transport some fresh fish from inside a boat, across the hatchery grounds, and immediately into the new building, where SJC could do fish processing, make some product of their own, and in the process, teach students while doing some cost recovery of their own. Fresh salmon caviar and fresh/frozen fillets from this facility could someday end up in grocery stores in Sitka. I don't see this as a problem. I see this as an opportunity to make this PNP hatchery program self-sustaining, as well as keeping it incredibly educational, as it has been for 30 years.
The water would be quite shallow underneath this floating dock. In the past during very low tides, students could almost walk all the way out to the netpens using chest waders. The only way large, deep draft boats could pull into this area, and not scrape their hulls on the bottom, would be during high tides. This would be the ideal time to offload some fish, when the hinged ramp isn't too steep. Common sense, but I hope this helps explain the concept.
Do you realize that the local seafood companies have to hire from out of the country since the locals do not want to work in processing. Before that they hired out of the northwest. Golly Gee lets go to SJ so we can work on the slime line? I don't see this as being educational. Lets call a spade a spade. We do not need another PNP competing with the fishermen's market. If it were totally educational, which I think there is some value in the aquaculture program, lets support it. If SJC can't make it on the basis of aquaculture education it needs to go away.
Just because this segment of the college has an opportunity to make some money at the cost of it's local fleet, doesn't make it right.
I would appreciate hearing from Dan or others affiliated with plans for hatchery and fish processing/product expansion at SJC on how their proposals mitigate subsequent impacts to the Indian River, wild salmon and their spawning habitat, and the values of adjacent Sitka NHP now enjoyed by people from the world over.
The deafening silence is not a good sign when trying to promote your cause.
You may have to contact fish and game about SJ's permitting when talking about river mitigation. Most likely SJ's proposals do not include any production increasing therefore most likely there will not be any public process. Although if there is a belief that the hatchery is derrick in their duty when it comes to Indian River preservation of it's natural stocks then I'm sure ADF&G will want to hear from you. I believe when hatchery production of pink salmon stray into the main stream of Indian River it poses problems to the natural fish in the system. In my eyes it's no problem but it's a cardinal sin with in certain divisions of the department. And yes I believe most hatcheries in their position are required to have fish weirs in adjacent rivers to prevent straying, I'm not quite sure?
It's a real shame about the financial condition of the college, hopefully the hatchery will be able to weather the storm..
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