KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
The 31st annual ComFish Alaska wrapped up on Saturday with organizers and participants calling it a great success. Booth space at the Kodiak Harbor Convention Center sold out over a month ago, and thousands of people came through the doors.
Trevor Brown is the economic development specialist for the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce.
— (ComFish 1 26 sec "The attendees are enjoying … out here a lot too, so.")
Attendance got a boost this year from herring fishermen still in town due to a price dispute, and as Al Burch said, trawlers were still in port due to rough weather. Burch sits on the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens Advisory Council board and spent some time at its booth during the three-day event:
— (ComFish 2 24 sec "There seems to be a … way ahead of where we started.")
Ted Teske (test-key) staffed the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health booth, and had on display a number of the personal floatation devices that his organization gave fishermen to test last year. He said fishermen wanted to see the ones that were ranked highest by their fellow fishermen:
— (ComFish 3 19 sec "So we kind of showed off … their boat this summer.")
Mele Maake (may-lay ma-ah-kay) is with the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission office in Juneau. At her booth, which she shared with the State Division of Investments, she said she was helping a lot of fishermen with their concerns over their permits:
— (ComFish 4 28 sec "I’ve got lots of questions … means a lot to our fishermen.")
Katherine Carscallen, a commercial fisherman from Dillingham was staffing the booth for Trout Unlimited, which is working to educate the public on how the proposed Pebble Mine might affect fishing in Bristol Bay:
— (ComFish 5 12 sec "Well, it’s not a hard sell … next with Pebble Mine.")
Because of a conflict with the end of the shortened legislative session this year, the gubernatorial debate on fisheries issues was moved to coincide with CrabFest, which will be held next month.
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