Jonathan S. "JKT" Kreiss-Tomkins
Pushing to cut trawl bycatch
What they say
In the October 8 debate he said that as a legislator he regularly went to federal fishery council meetings, pushed for less bycatch of king and chum salmon and halibut, and wrote several sign-on letters asking for lower bycatch caps and several Anchorage Daily News op-eds.
What the record shows ·
In March 2013, on the House Fisheries Committee, he recommended passing the committee's resolution asking the North Pacific Fishery Management Council to cut Chinook salmon bycatch limits in the pollock fisheries to at least half; it was withdrawn before a House vote. In April 2015 he was one of 12 legislators who signed a letter asking the council to cut Bering Sea halibut bycatch limits by half. At a House Fisheries hearing in November 2021 he asked the fish and game commissioner what the state needed before taking a position on the council's options for Bering Sea trawl bycatch, and whether the council should cap chum salmon bycatch.
Limit: The 2013 resolution was the committee's and never reached a House vote. The 2015 letter had 12 signers and does not show who wrote it. We did not find his other letters, his op-eds or records of his council attendance.