As a Co-owner of Broschat Fisheries and a lifelong member of the commercial fishing industry, I am writing to reject Senate Bill No. 198 an act establishing a 12.5 percent Alaska fisheries royalty on seafood caught commercially in the state.

While commercial fishing is one of Alaska’s most sustainable industries it is also one of the most delicate as each commercial fishing vessel is a small business.  In recent news articles Senator Dunleavy has equated commercial fishing to mining and oil - there is no comparison as the mining and oil industry are run through large companies employing hundreds of people, while the average commercial fishing vessel independently employs around four people. 

Our family run troller is an independent small business committed to promoting a sustainable industry- we already pay for the right to extract resources through Fisheries Business Taxes, Fishery Resource Landing Tax, Seafood Marketing Assessment Tax, and a Salmon Enhancement Tax.  Adding a 12.5 percent royalties tax would be truly crippling to our operation and hundreds of other small businesses – this is completely unacceptable.

This petition is an effort to protect Alaska’s fishermen and the commercial fishing industry as a whole - Please sign to show that we do NOT support Senate Bill No. 198.

Below is a link to the Senate Bill No. 198

http://www.akleg.gov/basis/Bill/Text/29?Hsid=SB0198A