The Chaninik Qaluyat Nunivak (CQN) Working Group was formed in 2013 between the Bering Sea Elders Group (BSEG), Association of Village Council Presidents (AVCP), and the Alaska Seafood Cooperative (AKSC). The Working Group was created after several years of discussions and a desire to continue working together to provide opportunity for a productive yellowfin sole fishery while minimizing the impacts on tribal people who use the same region for subsistence and other fisheries. The Working Group affords all of the members an opportunity to discuss issues of concern, one of which is halibut bycatch, related to the bottom trawl flatfish fishery near the Kuskokwim Bay, Etolin Strait, and Nunivak regions. The CQN Working Group also works together to collaborate on research to improve our understanding of the resources in the region. The Working Group continues to meet twice a year to improve dialogue and has begun conducting research in an attempt to understand how water temperature impacts the members’ respective commercial and subsistence activities. The CQN Working Group is comprised of 10 people – five representatives from Western Alaska and five representatives of the trawl flatfish industry, which AKSC’s fishing fleet is a part of. Of the five Western Alaska members, one represents BSEG, one represents AVCP, and the remaining three represent coastal communities from Platinum up to Newtok. The Alaska Seafood Cooperative is comprised of five companies – Fishermen’s Finest, North Star Fishing Co., Ocean Peace, Inc., O’Hara Corporation, and United States Seafoods – which own a total of 19 fishing vessels. Each of the five member companies has a representative on the Working Group.
Read the full newsletter HERE.
