Fooled again

Our DEC here is really just incredible. They
requested, out of the blue, plans for how we’d set our
boats up under a direct marketing permit to dress fish
– the issue we’ve been fighting for for going on 2
years now. This came after a fishing association
representative and our state legislator’s chief of
staff told us DEC was going to come up with a solution
to address our situation for this fishing season.

Today, we get a reply from DEC that is almost
identical to all the replies we’ve received from our
govt. to date. :

Good morning Len,
Under the current regulations your proposed activity
of purchasing and processing salmon on board your
tender vessel would be covered under the vessel
processing requirements. A direct market vessel is
only allowed to process your own harvest. The
department has been discussing with you and one other
individual possible changes to the regulations. Before
proposing these changes to the regulations, we will
need to discuss them with other stakeholders and make
a determination on the appropriateness of such action.
If the determination is to make those changes, it
would not be done in time for the upcoming salmon
season. If you want to pursue the small floating
processor permit, the department would be happy to
review any application and drawings you submit, and
work with you on ways to meet the requirements.

Best Regards,
Duane McIntire

“We’re not going to help you. You can comment on the
regulations and we’ll consider them next year.” They
sound helpful for the legislators they copy on their
emails, but in fact have been anything but.

We already “commented on their regulations” last
October, and they rejected them out of hand. No
“stakeholder” discussion as they put it in this letter
– no nothing.

The DEC division director, Kristin Ryan, went in front
of the House Fisheries Committee 2 weeks ago and told
them absolutely false information. I then had to
write each committee member and the governor and show
them what she wrote to us, and the recording of what
she said to them – it was whatever the word is for
“opposite of consistent”. Misleasding. Dishonest.
Deceptive. Pick one.

DEC’s actions mean even more of our fish will go to
China, and her administration recently touted our high
exports to China – exports that are only exporting our
labor and oversight on fish processing to China. The
fish “exported” to China are raw frozen salmon that
will be processed to a finished product and then
“exported” right back here to the US for consumption.
Rather than keep the fish here, we’re encouraging
shipping our fish there – where we have no oversight –
and having them process our fish and send it back for
us to eat.

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