Cordova group’s roots go deep in Sound’s history
The Cordova District Fishermen United, a non-profit organization based in Cordova, is dedicated to preserving, promoting, and perpetuating the commercial fishery in the district that includes the Copper River and Cordova areas.
The union’s foundations were laid as early as 1918, when a group of Prince William Sound fishermen formed a union affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. Early meeting records indicate that the original organization was probably called Copper River and Prince William Sound Fishermen’s Union.
Cordova District Fisheries Union was officially founded in 1935, and as a union held strikes to protest wages, working conditions and fish prices.
In February of 1971, Cordova fishermen came together to oppose the plan to build an Alaska oil pipeline and terminal in Prince William Sound. This meeting re-focused the group on involvement with public political policy. The organization fought a legal battle against the placement of the oil terminal in Prince William Sound.
Today the group continues that involvement in the political arena by representing Cordova area fishermen before the Alaska Board of Fisheries, and employs a lobbyist to be their advocate in the state capital.
In 2007, the organization formed FishPAC, a political action committee which addresses a wide range of issues affecting the fisheries, including forest practices, water quality, and access to the fisheries for commercial fishermen.
Executive Director Rochelle van den Broeke said the group runs a number of projects designed to “give back to the community, create awareness of the importance of the fisheries, and demonstrate how fishing is intrinsically vital to Cordova’s economy.”
The organization holds several annual events to distribute free fish and reach out to the community.
Each June, Senior Salmon Day ensures that senior members of the community have access to Copper River salmon. Volunteers fillet, clean, bag and distribute salmon donated by the fishing fleet. Fishermen from the group also donate halibut which is given away to communities in the Copper River basin, such as Chitina, Glennallen, Mentasta, Tazlina, and Tonsina, to build good relations.
Photo: Cordova fishermen Mike Lytle (left) and Bill Hjort (right) volunteer to fillet Copper River sockeye in the annual “Senior Salmon Day” giveaway. Photo courtesy of Cordova District Fishermen United.
“Sharing the fishers’ catch with those who may not have access to seafood is important to our members,” van den Broeke said.
Fish Prom is an annual dinner sponsored by the group to raise money for scholarships and a range of activities, such as the Copper River Stewardship Program, and the Alaska Young Fishermen’s Summit.
The fishing vessel training program run by Alyeska’s Ship Escort/Response Vessel System, or SERVS, is a major source of revenue for the organization, which recruits the fishermen and manages the contract with them. Fishing vessel teams are trained by SERVS in the use of oil spill response equipment so they can act as first responders in case of a spill.
This past year, the group partnered with other local organizations to coordinate a fishing net recycling program. van den Broek noted this was highly successful, and the organization is planning to continue the program.
Recently, the group was contracted by the Prince William Sound Science Center to help with its herring restoration program. Local herring fishermen will be contracted to take environmental samples each March for the next three years.
The Cordova fishermen are represented on the citizens’ council board by Patience Anderson Faulkner, who is a voice for the fishing industry’s concerns with keeping the environment in Prince William Sound healthy and protected from oil industry pollution.