The Petersburg Borough Assembly will consider asking state and federal authorities for help dealing with rising sea otter populations at a meeting tonight.
Sea otters were once wiped out in Southeast Alaska due to the fur trade, but their population in the region has skyrocketed since reintroduction in the 1960s. Those otters consume a lot of shellfish, putting them at odds with fishermen. Proponents for sea otter management say otters cause trouble for the local economy and ecology because they deplete the shellfish resource and take harvest from fisheries.
The proposed resolution would ask for disaster assistance for Southeast’s crab and dive fisheries. The resolution also urges state and federal authorities to work with Alaska Native and non-Native stakeholders to create a management plan. It asks that the federal government loosen regulations for how Alaska Native subsistence hunters can use harvested sea otters.
Sea otters are federally protected under the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act. They can only be hunted by people who are one-quarter Alaska Native or an enrolled member of a coastal tribe. Currently, otters can only be used for subsistence or traditional crafts.
Wrangell and Haines recently approved similar resolutions calling for stronger management.
Assembly members discussed this resolution in early August but postponed their decision until tonight’s meeting.
The assembly will also take its final vote on three proposed changes to the borough’s budget.
The first change is for a harbor shed roof replacement project, adding an increased expense of $180,000 from the original budget. The project was budgeted for last year, but the work got delayed until this fall, carrying it over.
The second new expense would fund a dam break study at the Crystal Lake dam, which would map and calculate its hazard potential. The last study was done in 1985, and the dam’s hazard potential is currently classified as “high.” The proposed budget adjustment adds $60,000 to the cost of the study, bringing the total cost to $116,000.
And the other proposed budget change transfers a combined $15,000 out of the electric, water and sewer departments, over to the borough’s geographic information system project. The borough said those utility departments use the information, and the funds are for ongoing support from experts.
The assembly has approved the budget changes twice. If approved tonight, they officially pass.
The Petersburg Borough Assembly meets tonight at 6 p.m. in the Assembly Chambers. KFSK will broadcast that meeting live.
