The halibut resolution passed by the port commissioners is poorly thought out and reflects negatively on the commissioners’ values.

The premise of a short season being unsafe for Port Townsend anglers sounds good until you consider that to accomplish the goals of the resolution, sport halibut allocated to other areas would have to be re-allocated to Puget Sound. Seasons for halibut elsewhere would be very short, maybe one day per season, resulting in a do-or-die fishery for everyone else.

Providing safety for Port Townsend while endangering every other angler from Washington to California is frankly immoral and irrational. Shame on the commissioners.

[The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife] held a public meeting on Sept. 1, 2016 in Port Townsend to address concerns of Port Townsend anglers. WDFW explained how halibut quotas are assigned between the U.S. and Canada, and within Washington, Oregon and California through the Pacific Fisheries Management Council. WDFW sent a letter on March 4, 2017 explaining in detail the assignment of halibut quota to the City of Port Townsend and Jefferson County commissioners, but not to the port.

There is abundant information available to the commissioners concerning the allocation of halibut. Yet they decided to pass a resolution with the impact of asking other anglers to die in bad weather so local anglers can fish safely. No rationale, no matter how well intended, can justify telling other anglers to go to sea and die in bad weather. The commissioners demonstrated they understand neither going to sea nor fish policy.

I recommend the commissioners recall their resolution and tell local anglers to attend meetings and ask their colleagues from other ports to give fair consideration to their request. Let all halibut anglers consider safety, sharing the resource and fairness; let a democratic process decide how the fish are divided.

JOEL KAWAHARA

Quilcene