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December 11, 2008
Crab Rationalization 'Damage Control' Conspiracy is a RealityEvidence of ongoing plot against Crewmembers released for first timeBy Stephen TaufenAnchorage, AK - December 11, 2008 - Disenfranchised crab crewmembers have sought since 2004 to restore the historical share of the individual transferable quotas (ITQs) that were taken from them in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands crab fisheries. 
At the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council (NPFMC) meeting here this weekend, crewmembers will try again to get a separate placeholder on the agenda - a Crew Reallocation Amendment to the Fisheries Management Plan (FMP) for Crab Rationalization (CR). National standards support that it is a 'fair and equitable' goal to reallocate as much as $400 million of the initial $1.1 billion worth of Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQs) to all 'vessel operators' - i.e. skippers and crew. Yet the Council persists in steering things towards violating federal Fisheries Acts that clearly establish no compensation needs to be made to existing ITQ holders, instead of taking the reallocation amendment course. Apparently, there is a reason why. The attached document surfaced in August of 2006, and speaks for itself. Crewmembers are obviously the target of this deliberate "damage control" plan that outlined how to continue defrauding them of permanent rights to access crab. Crab crewmembers should calmly remember that a tide must reach its lowest point before it begins to flood. Now the prudent option for crew is to channel justifiable anger into joining the Bering Sea Crab Crewmen's Cooperative (form attached). The Conspiracy in 3 Nutshells:In short, three key elements were proposed to keep crewmembers at bay forever, and others were added when needed to keep any damage under uncompromising control. The first element was to combine two insurmountable hurdles of (1) allowing no motion for reconsideration or reallocation; and if that were to fail, then (2) to hold six council votes in opposition, in order to reject reconsideration. Inherent to such subjugation was that it might involve all voting Council members, save one, in order to ensure no motion was ever seconded by another member. The second element was to deliberately deny crewmembers the chance for equitable change "by insisting on a minimum five-year trial run" of crab privatization before modifications could be made. This roadblock flies in the face of the legal fact that the CR program could be changed at any time, without making any compensation to existing quota privilege holders. Meanwhile, processors and ITQ-holders have continually pressed the Council, successfully, to change the CR program to overcome their problems. The 'damage control' plan helps explain why only token images of reciprocity were given crew concerns. The third element was to "quiet angry voices with a prudent delay" by ensuring that the Economic Data Report (EDR) information not be timely shared with crewmembers, so that they could not calculate historical participation rights using official data sources. NPFMC actions to date strongly indicate coherence with the conspiracy's blueprint. What clearer evidence is needed than the April 2008 'strong six' voting record of the Council, data report delays, ITQ-holders' testimonies, and records of phone calls strong-arming crew into not voicing public comments that they had moments before signed up to give on the federal record? The current Council approach of using a modifying motion that would merely lock crew into buying quota, from existing ITQ-holders if and when it ever comes up for sale, looks like the addition of 'a fourth element' to the racket in progress. Be assured, federal law enforcement has been seriously looking into this for quite awhile. According to federal guidelines, "Once existence of a conspiracy has been established, only a slight connection to the conspiracy is necessary in order to convict any one defendant of knowing participation." Consider for example surveillance on January 28, 2004 that reveals, with crewmembers absent, the Distant Waters Committee met in Seattle before the February council meeting. Some attendees openly discussed how favorable it was for them to be in possession of most of the data necessary for scientists and economists to fully evaluate the CR program, and they gleefully talked of leaving it out of required impact reports: before the program even became law. Lay Share Contracts Ignored:So, given such intents, it's no surprise that the award of ITQs blatantly disregarded 'lay share' maritime contracts, required under 46 U.S.C. § 11107 and §10601 as amended, that should have certified the pre-rationalization level of historical skipper and crew participation rights. Instead, harvesting quotas were misallocated 97% to "vessel owners" and a meager 3% was given to skippers. Yet skippers historically got a 'lay share' between 10 and 17% of harvest settlements, and the handful of crewmembers typically onboard each vessel historically split another 20 to 25%. But if they got 40% before, then why shouldn't they get 40% today - quotas or not? To resolve this requires a separate reallocation Amendment, particularly because crewmembers will keep facing these issues, nationwide for many species. Consequently, the recent 9th Circuit Court's pro-prosecution ruling on the Weyhrauch indictment's fraud charges may offer perspective about the 'honest services' owed by public officials and agency decision-makers. States' Responsibility is Obvious:Former Interior secretary Walter Hickel said, "If you steal $10 from a man's wallet, you're likely to get a fight, but if you steal billions from the commons, co-owned by him and his descendants, he may not even notice." Moreover, when the government becomes extremely biased toward privatization of the public commons for special interests, then the eventual losers beyond taxpayers and consumers are the ecosystem and future generations who lose opportunities to exercise privileges to fish. Yet it is easy to redefine fixing Crab Rationalization as a moral imperative, with practical solutions. First, the State needs to get the crew reallocation Amendment in place. Second, end high lease rents on ITQs. Squashing any Demagogue:If some of Alaska's council members were squarely in on the "damage control" plan, then there's a good chance that Governor Sarah Palin is being deliberately blindsided by those inside connivers. The mastermind behind the "confidential (sic) communication" recommending damage control clearly expressed, "Our final concern is that someday a newly-appointed NPFMC voting member from Alaska could mount a serious political crusade on behalf of Alaskan coastal communities and their resident local businessmen to 'do the right thing' and 'make things right for crab skippers and crewmen" . as it would be the unwelcome rise of a "grass roots demagogue [who] could stress the political system in Alaska sufficiently to prompt a reallocation . to the detriment of our clients' interests." Could someone explain just why protecting crewmembers would be considered "a serious political crusade" - instead of the expected conduct of business for Alaska's federal council members? Is it possible that the successful implementation of this conspiracy also tainted the recent choice of a new Washington State representative to the NPFMC? Is the State of Alaska even aware of the federal lobbying dollars that key processors spent to influence the choice of who just got that position? Yes, Mr. Secretary, Congress, and Governor Palin, you will be asked to keep bowing before these resource kleptocrats - until you find the courage to stand up, execute the moral imperative, and put a stop to this racketeering. We leave crewmembers with one final thought, from Mahatma Gandhi, "First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." By Stephen Taufen, Groundswell Fisheries Movement Attachments:CrabConspiracy.pdf A public watchdog and advocate for fishermen and their coastal communities. Taufen is an "insider" who blew the whistle on the international profit laundering between global affiliates of North Pacific seafood companies, who use illicit accounting to deny the USA the proper taxes on seafood trade. The same practices are used to lower ex-vessel prices to the fleets, and to bleed monies from our regional economy. Contact Stephen Taufen © AlaskaReport.com All Rights Reserved. |
BERING SEA & ALEUTIAN ISLAND CRAB CREWMEN & SKIPPERS - Past & PresentThe Crewman's Association is requesting that all past and present Bering Sea/Aleutian crab crewmen contact us AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Just when you thought it would never happen! After thorough research, we've found that the North Pacific Fishery Management Council and NOAA General Counsel skirted US laws to give 97% of crab quota shares to boat owners/investors in Crab Rationalization. The Commerce Department knows it must cure its legal blunder. Just as basic justice and humaneness oblige the Council to restore our historical economic participation rights. Now is the time for the onboard fishermen - the true harvesters of the crab, past and present - to step up together. You play a vital role in providing information we need to make crew proposal(s) to the Council to overturn high quota rents, to restore incomes to all crewmen and to fishing communities. We need your name, contact information (full mailing address, email address, and phone numbers), vessel names, and seasons (by year and species), and total years fished. We'd also appreciate names, phone numbers and email addresses of your past crewmates, too, so we can contact them if they don't see this ad. In addition, copies of your old contracts or settlement sheets, from pre- and post-rationalization, will help in proving crewmen's legal rights. You can request your old contracts from vessels you previously fished for. By law, all vessels over 20 tons were required to have contracts; and we also need to know which vessels were in violation. Please help protect the future for crab fishermen, and future new entrants into all fisheries, by contacting us soon by email, phone, or by mail. If you'd like to join our organization please note that when you contact us.
Contact us as bscrabcrew@gmail.com |