Maw withdraws from consideration for Board of Fisheries position

Governor Bill Walker’s nominee to the Board of Fisheries has withdrawn his name from consideration.

A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader John Coghill’s office confirmed the withdrawal of Dr. Roland Maw but couldn’t provide additional details.

Maw went through the first half of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Resources Committee Monday.

The hearing was extended to Friday afternoon as there were more people signed up to testify than time allotted, but was cancelled earlier today.

His confirmation has been mired in talk of the tension between commercial and sportfishing interests in the state. Maw’s nomination saw strong support from many commercial fishermen and wariness from many charter groups.

But support for Maw extended beyond one half of the ‘fish wars’ debate. He has a background in zoology and natural resources management and many people who testified before the committee said they wanted to see a scientist hold a position on the board.

Board of Fisheries Executive Director Glenn Haight said he’d heard Maw had stepped down from consideration but didn’t know the particulars. He is heading to Sitka for a meeting next week that Maw could have attended in an interim capacity had he been confirmed.

This leaves two positions that will need to be filled by April 1st. Governor Bill Walker has not stated whether he plans to re-appoint Huslia’s Orville Huntington once his term is up.

Maw was a candidate to succeed Cora Campbell as Fish and Game Commissioner. He was not granted an interview by the joint board. Governor Walker then nominated him for a seat on the Board of Fisheries.

Maw could not be contacted for comment by deadline.

Sign up for The Signal

Top Alaska stories delivered to your inbox every week

Site notifications
Update notification options
Subscribe to notifications