Comment from N/A N/A

The Secretary should send this proposed rule back to the Council and NMFS to properly include the three net areas in the West Area. These net areas were excluded from the FMP in order to prevent stakeholders in these fisheries from exercising federal review of state management measures that discriminate against nonresidents of the State of Alaska. Consequently, removing these areas from the FMP opens the door to unregulated fishing by vessels not registered in the State of Alaska. Should unregulated fishing occur, NMFS will be unable to implement emergency measures to regulate commercial fishing in these areas, because this scenario has been publicly debated and considered by the Council, removing such a scenario from the reach of emergency rulemaking. Likely, any amendment to the salmon fmp which opens the door to unregulated fishing would be found inconsistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and would be sent back for review by a federal court. Any amendment to an existing FMP that carves out exceptions which could open the door to unregulated fishing and remove federal oversight from state management is ill advised. Additionally, all the stakeholders testified that they wished to retain federal oversight and remain under the FMP. Currently, the stakeholders in Cook Inlet face pressures on their fishery that are not encountered in other areas of the state. Urbanization of the Cook Inlet basin and state regulations that permit resident-only dipnet fishing threaten the economic viability of their fishery. Listing of the Cook Inlet Beluga whale will have unknown consequences on the fishery. Also, federal subsistence users in the Cook Inlet basin rely on the Cook Inlet salmon for subsistence needs. Removing these net areas from the fmp will leave the stakeholders without a federal voice during interagency consultation regarding state management, habitat preservation, endangered species interactions, and federal subsistence needs.