Fish and Game office expecting cuts in '16
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TweetThe job of managing commercial fisheries in Haines could become tougher next year, as the local department faces deep cuts.
A $90,000 cut to operations here was included in Gov. Bill Walker’s budget last year, but the Department of Fish and Game was able to identify other funds to pay for operations, including operating fish wheels and weirs.
Next year, Fish and Game expects more cuts, so maintaining the Haines funding will get more difficult, said Lowell Fair, a coordinator for Fish and Game.
Commercial fisheries biologist Mark Sogge said absorbing the cut may mean reducing the duration of weir operation or seeking federal sportfish funding to pay for fish wheels. The wheels also are used in studies of sport fish-caught king salmon.
With less funding, biologists have less information on which to base management decisions, Sogge said.
“You have to guess more, and when you guess, you have to guess on the conservative side, which means fishermen have reduced opportunities to fish. When they catch less fish, that hurts the economy, so it’s a really bad circle you get into,” Sogge said.
The cuts would come from a $430,000 local budget for commercial fisheries that doesn’t include Sogge’s salary.
