Twelve distinct Alaska regions last year got the go-ahead from the state Legislature to form marketing groups to promote their own seafood. The groups - called Regional Seafood Development Associations, or RSDAs - are to be funded by a tax on fishermens' catches, ranging from a half percent to 2 percent.

Assuming it is approved by the membership, the tax will be assessed at the first point of sale, meaning that when fish is delivered to a tender or at the dock, and will appear as a deduction on fish tickets. Along with marketing and promotions, the money can also be used for industry development projects, such as ice machines or boat lifts.

Prior to the application period that begins Feb. 24, the state wants to know how much interest is out there.

"We want to receive written notices from groups or individuals and hold interviews about their interest in becoming an RSDA," said Glenn Haight, fisheries specialist with the state Department of Commerce Community and Economic Development. "If there is more than one interested group from a region, we'll try to connect them so they can work together and not be competing with each other."

He added that he expects all of the 12 regions will apply to the program. "I have already heard from Bristol Bay and the Yukon River groups. I expect an application from Southeast, and although I haven't heard anything from Kodiak, I imagine I'll hear from that region," he said.

Not surprisingly, Copper River salmon fishermen are already leading the pack. They have already formed a Prince William Sound/Copper River Marketing Association, and launched a campaign Web site (www.areaemktg.org) to provide information and drum up support from their region.

"This is an opportunity we should not let pass by," wrote Bill Lindow of the F/V Jitterbug in a testimonial section on the Web site. "I am very willing to donate 1 percent of my salmon gross to an RSDA that is controlled by local fishermen ... The roughly $200,000 that will be generated annually by the tax will do much to protect and further the standing of Copper River products." The PWS/Copper River clan intends to be operational by this summer.

Meanwhile, Haight said the concept is so new, there is very little guidance as to what an RSDA does or how it performs its duties. " It's a matter of how someone thinks it will be most effective in a region. But I don't see someone creating an RSDA that isn't going to play well to those people who will be asked to pay a tax," he said.

He added that RSDAs are not specific to salmon, but to all seafood permit categories.

Four candidates have been winnowed from a field of seven to be interviewed for the position of state Department of Fish and Game commissioner. One is the current acting commissioner, Wayne Regelin, who was formerly with the Division of Game for 21 years and served nearly 10 years as director.

Cal Skaugstad of Fairbanks is currently the Division of Sport Fish stocking director for the Interior region. He began his career with the fish and game department in 1980 and has also worked for the commercial fisheries division.

Roland Maw is the executive director of the United Cook Inlet Drift Association, and co-owner of a Homer-based sport charter business. He also operates a commercial fishing tender and charters vessels for research.

Doug Mecum joined the fish and game department in 1983 and has been director of the commercial fisheries division since 1999. From 1990 to 1998, he was the regional coordinator for the Southeast region. Mecum has the endorsement of the United Fishermen of Alaska. "We don't feel there is anybody else who could shoulder the responsibility and provide the leadership and keep the department's morale up," UFA president Bob Thorstenson Jr. told Bob Tkacz in a Laws for the Sea article.

A selection committee will interview the candidates later this month. The committee includes Ed Dersham, John Jensen and Rupe Andrews from the Board of Fish; and Ron Somerville, Cliff Judkins and Ted Spraker from the Board of Game. The selection committee will forward its choices to Gov. Frank Murkowski. The governor's choice must then be confirmed by a majority vote of the Legislature.

The Guinness Book of Records last week certified a man from Puerto Rico as the world's oldest person. Seafood.com reports that Emiliano Mercado del Toro, 113 years old, succeeds Fred Hale Sr. of the United States, who died Nov. 19 at the same age. The new record-holder said at a press conference that he attributed his long life to regular exercise, clean living and his frequent consumption of "punche," a local favorite made of cornmeal and cod.

Mercado del Toro was born Aug. 21, 1891, in the town of Cabo Rojo. Puerto Rico was still a Spanish colony at the time of his birth, and he retains memories of the U.S. occupation of the island in 1898.

In a related cod piece, European farmed cod production should reach 25,000 metric tons, or 55 million pounds, by 2008. That was announced as part of a notice about an aquaculture conference scheduled to take place in Scotland this year. A sixfold increase in United Kingdom farmed production is predicted in the coming year, according to Malcolm Dickson, editor of the magazines Fish Farmer and Fish Farming Today. The event, called The Aquaculture Today Conference, is set for April 13 and 14 at the Marriott Hotel in Edinburgh.

Scottish scientists at the University of Glasgow have also received funding to develop new sea cage technology, which helps regulate the swimming of farmed fish - dubbed an "aquatic aerobics" program. They said the technology will "help keep farmed fish fit and healthy, and ultimately boost quality levels and productivity."

Kodiak-based freelance writer Laine Welch can be reached via e-mail at