Seems the Stevens family of Alaska politicians, of the Magnuson Stevens Act, are helping steer the fishing rules for thier own financial gain.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21744055/

"under investigation by the NMFS...."

http://www.alaskareport.com/stephen-taufen30004.htm

Good info!! Thanks.

Interesting. Thanks Ed.!

really? someone pushing a set of laws that eliminates competition and gifts most of a resource to a small number of people? i'm shocked!

The truth always seems to surface:FIREdevil:.
At last, a ray of hope. The system designed to protect all of our interests has been brooken for some time, special interest groups and greed are IMHO largely at fault. The little guy always gets the raw deal and a few get richer. Get the popcorn ready the show is about to begin, Id love nothing more than a circus, an all out media frenzy around this news, it migth finally help the regulators refelct for a minute, on what is truly at stake, and look at the issue of "best available Science" carefully.

* * *
Like the sons of Trent Lott and Harry Reid, Ted Stevens' son Ben works as a top lobbyist in DC, pulling in big fees by trading on his father's unrivaled position in the senate. For example, in 2000 Senator Stevens earmarked $30 million in disaster relief funds to the Southwest Alaska Municipal Agency. The agency promptly hired Ben Stevens to advise the group on how those funds should be spent.

Dozens of other Alaska companies have sought the services of the senator's son. From 2001 to 2004, Ben Stevens' financial disclosure forms show that he has been paid more than $750,000 in lobbying and consulting fees. Stevens notes that he considers his lobbying business only "part-time" work. That's because his full-time job for most of that time was to head up the Alaska Special Olympics, which his father financed with a $10 million federal appropriation. Ben Stevens was paid $715,000 as director of the organization.

During that time, Ben was also working for VECO, a large oil services company that had built pipelines in Alaska and in southwest Asia. Ben Stevens was paid more than $210,000 by VECO from the late 1990s through 2002. In 1999, VECO had built a $70 million pipeline in Pakistan. When the Pakistan government was slow to pay up, VECO complained to Senator Stevens. Stevens told the Pakistanis that he would a big trade deal with the country until they offered up the money to VECO. The Pakistanis complied and the trade pact was approved.

Ben Stevens' stunning success as lobbyist is remarkable considering the fact that until 1998 he had no experience at all as either a lobbyist or a consultant. Indeed, he had spent the previous 15 years working on a commercial fishing boat in the Bering Sea. But this experience on the icy ocean has also come in handy in Washington.

The senator claims that he rarely speaks to his son about legislative matters, except when they involve commercial fishing. "Ben's an expert on fishing," Stevens told the Anchorage Daily News.

Indeed, Ben Stevens gets paid $170,000 from the Alaskan fishing industry to guard their interests in Washington. He soon proved worth the fees. In 2003, as the invasion of Iraq was in high gear, the Bush administration sent an emergency request to Congress for $80 billion to fund the war.

Senator Stevens saw this as a fail safe way to spread a little cheer to his son and his clients. Deep inside the war spending bill, Stevens embedded a provision long-sought by the Alaska fishing industry forcing the Department of Agriculture to classify wild salmon caught in Alaskan waters as an "organic" food. The designation would allow the fishing industry to significantly mark up the price of such certified fish.

Stevens also used the Pentagon funding bill as cover for two more fishing measures: a $45 million subsidy to Alaskan fisheries and a provision requiring the military to purchase only American fish, 80 percent of which comes from Alaska. Later, Stevens promised that his next move on their behalf was a scheme to compel the military to include "salmon jerky" as a part of the basic ration kit for troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.

http://www.bloomingtonalternative.com/node/7894

Might be interesting to see what other groups have "hired" the Jr Stevens.....

Crooked sonsabitches. :mad:

really? someone pushing a set of laws that eliminates competition and gifts most of a resource to a small number of people? i'm shocked!

The "Gold Standard of fishery mgmt" according to the experts over at MPABoard. :D

i wonder if my 5 years of experience in running a middle grounds charter boat would qualify me for consulting and lobbying work?

i wonder if my 5 years of experience in running a middle grounds charter boat would qualify me for consulting and lobbying work?

YEP! but you would go broke being an honest person.

i wonder if my 5 years of experience in running a middle grounds charter boat would qualify me for consulting and lobbying work?

Depends who your dad is.
These guys are dirty. I did some Googling of 'stevens fisheries corruption' and there was a whole lot to read. Amazing really.