Clem Tillion on Halibut, Salmon Treaty 4/26/1983

And will be coming up in our movie coming up in his going tell you in 5 4 3 2 1. At one time climb till you and was one of the most important men in Alaskan fisheries serving as governor Hammons director of international fisheries and chairman of the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council. But now Bill Sheffield is governor. And not only did Jillian lose his job with the administration His name was not included when Sheffield submitted his nominees for the council to him was in Juneau yesterday and spoke with a reporter Molly McCammon about the how about moratorium and the U.S. Canadian salmon treaty. As for losing his power Jillian says he's disappointed but not surprised. Oh I think I doubt that I was the plan but that's his right. You know I don't argue with him. Secretary of Commerce must choose from a list of three names. There were political commitments made including being in for a long time. And believe me there's no hard feelings.

I will admit to it and I would have liked. I understand again why do you think it was a controversy made troll salmon catch to conservation that I felt were necessary and basically a problem of the camp might have been a little annoyed at some of the Director of International fisheries but they don't really know and I believe any attention to think it's going to happen now. It entered human famine treaty and the how of it how that moratorium How about moratorium has been voted through and I'll still be the chairman of

the council through the next two meetings and will do everything I can to see that a moratorium goes through the moratorium alone will not solve the problem. You know my my feeling is that when you pay more to the banker in interest than you do to the fisherman for the fish and that's what happens in five days seasons we hold the product for a whole year. But your management is ridiculous and the need to change and we need to have some way to spread the take a bit over a longer period of the year. There are a number of ways to do that you know the share water system is one that everybody was nervous about but it's just one of them is a number of options that would do the same thing and I hope the council will address itself to that in the coming years. The more farms and. But it's only a case of hold the line while you develop another problem it

alone will not solve the problem. Look at my first proposal of halibut become an incidental take any of the longline fishery in that you are allowed so many pounds for so many pounds of black fisherman gave the process's tonight an hour and they came up with a share for the proposal of the conference committee meeting in Vancouver. Well I was in Seattle. You can go and break the quarter down my mom. You can rotate the boat as is done in some places off the coast of Norway where they get to fish in June this year July next year August next year January eventually. And the consumer gets a quality product over a long period of time and fish are held in the cold storage for not over 30 days and for eight months to a year.

What about the famine training that's going to be difficult but the thing that. I don't think the Canadians are bluffing when they talk about a fish and I think it would be disastrous for the fisheries of Alaska remember that when we say we produce 16 to 20 percent of our trollers catch We're counting the Canadian streams that flow through Alaska. So if you really come down to those king salmon that are spawned in Alaska streams there are a minuscule number compared to what's taken and all the best rehab that we can that I can see in the future wouldn't produce over 100000. King Salmon a year even with all our aquaculture that would truly Alaskans and

as we're. You know holding right now is two hundred fifty five thousand five hundred. Why we can't live on what we produce. So if there is to be any future in the troll salmon fishery at all. A treaty of some sort has to go through and these people say will live without a treaty are saying we'll take everything that they are for a few years and then there won't be any little nations can't bluff big nations. When Canada says they're going to do something drastic I believe that means that we will do something drastic in retaliation and the fish will be the loser I'm sorry. I'm not going to speak about whether this treaty whether you have survived with this modification or that modification I'm sorry. From Seattle though what was changed was pretty minor. The Canadians are more upset about the Fraser River than they are about the Canadian boundary

problem. At the no win no win situation that fishermen have to face. What do you think the future of fishing in Alaska. We produce a lot of fish but people will think that they can stay in one kind of fishery and make their living for the rest of their life. Take a look at the king crab you know when the cod crashed in 53 The king crab built to fill the niche. Now the power back on the King Crab are going down and it's just like snowshoe rabbit unlink. You don't have that much control of it. And you better learn how to fish. But as far as fisherman you've got to remember that 20 percent of the fishermen catch 80 percent of the fish. And you listen to the screaming the loudest are invariably the fans. Need for more flexibility on the scene and how many to move quickly

and not quickly between different fishing fishing industries. Well number one I don't think the Alaska fishing industry is in bad shape. I think those people that traditionally make a very good living are still making a very good living and will be making a very good living years from now and that what you're seeing is some that went into it for a life experience had a barely existence level getting hurt as things change. Remember I was 30 years of fishermen and basic biological stock that supports the Alaskan fisheries is in good shape. We have some trouble in a few king salmon rivers but basically the salmon of Alaska are in excellent condition this year 30 votes in shelling straights to 100 5000 metric tons of fish out of shallow straits in three months time of the total landing for the Atlantic coast the United

States Key West the main one hundred twenty five. So I mean you know we're doing very well. But those people will pin their hopes on one single fishery on one particular type of gear. Occasionally get hurt. Last question What are you doing here. Oh I came down to talk to Commissioner international Not Pacific first commission and I came to talk with Governor Sheffield some of the Preble off island problems associated with that. And as I will remain as a commissioner on that I want to make sure that anything I do is in cooperation with the position taken by my state. I'm still in Alaska and you know and I don't intend to do anything that will hurt my state. Maybe just this program does go out to people in that area maybe you can sort of mention what what is happening now on the federal

level I know the state has made a firm commitment to the prevalence to get them to help them in a transition from federal support and how does it look on the federal. Oh I don't think the federal courts would like to dump a great deal more than the state can afford to assume the federal building huge interest structure out there some things but they're willing to turn over to us don't meet Alaska fire code for instance we don't want buildings they don't mean fire. If federal want to keep those buildings then they pay for. There's no reason for us to take something we then have to tear down rebuilt the LORAN station on St. Paul. If so close to the airport that you can't get an I allus approach into the airport with our airport of that size that we have to maintain that we can't make night time or fog slamming them. So I mean there are a lot of problems to be solved Yeah. And I'd say I'm not in it any longer. I'm not part of

this administration the administration is aware of the problems and doing their own negotiating and I certainly wish them luck. How about speaking with reporter Molly McCammon of the Alaska Public Radio Network.