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Alaska senator seeks boost for two fishermen

By Hal Bernton
Seattle Times staff reporter

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The two men — Seattle fishing-industry executive Bart Eaton and Petersburg fishing-industry executive John Winther of Petersburg, Alaska — are partners in two vessels that catch and freeze black cod, a flaky white-fleshed fish prized in Asian markets.

The amendment Stevens tucked into a major appropriations bill late last week would result in the National Marine Fisheries Service awarding to the Eaton/Winther partnerships at least 235,000 pounds of black cod fishing rights off Alaska. Stevens' staff said the figure could be closer to 400,000 pounds. Those rights could be worth from $2.3 million to $4 million if sold to other fishermen.

The amendment would reverse court actions and administrative decisions that concluded the Eaton/Winther vessels had no legal rights to the black-cod quota that the amendment would award. And it would make Eaton and Winther, who already control more than 220,000 pounds of black-cod fishing rights, some of the biggest players in the black-cod industry,

A Stevens spokeswoman said yesterday that the partners were pioneers of the fishery who were unfairly denied some of their harvest rights by federal officials. "He (Stevens) wants them to get what he feels are the correct quota shares," said Courtney Schikora, a spokeswoman for Stevens.

But the amendment, submitted without prior review by members of the black-cod fishing industry, is sparking controversy because it enriches Eaton and Winther at the expense of more than 800 other quota holders. Each would have to give up an average of 500 pounds of quota share to create the new allocation.

"I was taken by surprise when I heard about it," said Dan Falvey, a Sitka, Alaska, fisherman, "and I'm concerned that the action was taken without any input from the people it will affect."

Black-cod fishery Primary method of fishing: Bottom hook-and-line gear (longline). Primary market: Japan Size of '03 harvest: 30.8 million pounds Value of '03 harvest: $71.5 million Management: North Pacific Fishery Management Council Source: National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska; Marine Stewardship Council

Bob Alverson, manager of the Seattle-based Fishing Vessel Owners' Association, which represents more than 80 vessel owners who fish black cod, said, "I think this is wrong, and someone should have checked with us about it."

Winther could not be reached for comment yesterday. Staff said he was away on vacation, and had not checked for messages.

Winther is a former member of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council that helps draft fishery policy off Alaska. He is also an active contributor to the Republican Party. Since 2001, Winther has contributed more than $14,000 to the national Republican Party and Republican candidates for Congress, including $2,000 to Stevens, according to federal records. Among industry officials, Winther is viewed as a staunch Stevens supporter. But Stevens said yesterday that he has not seen Winther in years, according to Schikora.

Eaton also could not be reached yesterday for comment. He is a well-known figure in the North Pacific fishing industry who helped to pioneer king crabbing off Kodiak, and during the 1980s counted Ted Stevens' son, Ben Stevens, as one of his crew.

Eaton is now an executive at Seattle-based Trident Seafoods, a powerhouse company in the North Pacific seafood industry. Since 1991, Eaton has contributed more than $14,000 to the Republican party, Republican political-action committees and Republican candidates, including $3,000 to Stevens, according to a review of federal records.

Winther and Eaton are involved in two partnerships that operate black-cod vessels, the Ocean Prowler and the Prowler, according to federal court documents and industry officials. Such vessels set down thousands of baited hooks in lines that string out along the ocean bottom — thus the name longliners. The fish brought on board these vessels are then cleaned and frozen.

The black-cod harvest in recent years involves more than 30 million pounds of fish worth more than $70 million a year, more than half of which is caught by Washington and other Northwest-based vessels. It is managed under a quota system, with each operator allocated annual poundage that they can claim in the harvest. Alternatively, they can sell those rights to the highest bidder.

Under current markets, the 400,000 pounds that would be awarded to Winther and Eaton would be worth at least $4 million if sold outright, according to an estimate by Dock Street Brokers in Seattle.

This quota system was developed in the '90s to end the derby-style races for fish in the '80s. Vessel operators said the derbies resulted in wasteful and unsafe harvests as each fishermen competed against the next until a fleetwide quota was reached.

During the '80s, Winther and Eaton's vessels did participate in the derbies, and thus gained quota shares. In addition, they chartered their vessels to the National Marine Fisheries Service for special black-cod surveys between 1985 and 1989. These surveys were generally in areas closed to other commercial fishermen, according to a federal court ruling.

Winther and Eaton argued unsuccessfully to federal officials, and in the courts, to have the survey fish counted toward the quota system launched in the 1990s. Four years ago the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected their claims, noting that the charter expeditions were not "commercial fishing" and therefore not eligible.

Stevens has always been convinced that Winther and Eaton deserved the quotas, said Schikora. In 1996 fisheries legislation, he tried to craft language that would prompt federal officials to award the quota. But that legislation did not spur the action, so he tried again with this amendment, according to Schikora. She said the amendment may face additional scrutiny as the legislation moves to the Senate floor.

Hal Bernton: 206-464-2581 or hbernton@seattletimes.com

Seattle Times reporter Justin Mayo and Seattle Times researcher Gene Balk contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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