Shawn Dochtermann of Kodiak, Alaska has worked with his father for 30 years hauling crab or halibut in a fishing boat.

“I’ve fished on six or seven other crab boats, but I’ve always gone back to hanging out with my dad,” Shawn said. “It’s been rocky, but you take the good with the bad and it’s not all about money. We enjoy being out there fishing in the fresh air, the camaraderie.”

When not at sea, Shawn works as vice president of the Alaska Jig Association and secretary of the Crewmen’s Association.  The son of an immigrant, Shawn opposes policies that prevent newcomers from becoming commercial fishermen. The establishment of Individual Fishing Quotas in Alaska grants operators the right to catch a defined percentage of the fish stock in perpetuity. Had IFQs been in place when Shawn’s father moved to Alaska in the 1960s, he could not have become a fisherman.

Now, Shawn is working to persuade the North Pacific Council to allocate Bering Sea Crab quota share to a crewmen’s cooperative, so that the fishermen who actually go out on the boats can benefit from their work. When an IFQ program for Bering Sea crab was implemented in 2005, crewmen were not given quota shares. As a result, almost 1,000 workers lost their jobs.

“Now we’re here with a thousand guys who were professional crewmen, and most of those fishermen that lost their jobs had 15-20 years of experience in the crab fishery in the Bering Sea,” Shawn said. “They depended on that to provide for their families. As my father said at the Council meeting, ‘You’ve just stolen Christmas from many people’s children.’”

Although Shawn keeps busy as an advocate, he makes sure to set aside half of the year to fish.

“My favorite thing about going out fishing is leaving the dock and having the freedom to not have to stay in the lines, like you do when you’re driving. You’re free to move about. It’s freedom.”