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Editor s note: This is the first of a two-part series examining how fishing guideTom Ohaus of Sitka was charged with illegally obtaining Alaskafishing licenses. Ohaus was considered a strong candidate tobecome the only sport fisherman on the International PacificHalibut Commission before being charged. When Alaska fishing guide Tom Ohaus refinanced his stateside homein 2004, buried in the stack of papers he signed was a "homesteadexemption" agreement. Little did the self-proclaimed Sitka residentknow the grief that piece of paper would come to cause him in the49th state. On May 25, Alaska State Troopers charged Ohaus with five counts ofillegally obtaining state resident fishing licenses. They say heceased to be an Alaska resident and became a non-resident when heaccepted the benefits of that homestead exemption in Massachusetts.The false-statement charges are misdemeanors and might not beconsidered a big deal, but they were lodged just as the NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) began vetting Ohausfor a seat on the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC). The commission, a U.S.-Canada treaty organization, sets halibutcatch limits for the Pacific Ocean. Ohaus was thought to have agood chance of becoming the first sport fisherman ever named to anorganization traditionally dominated by commercial fishinginterests. Ohaus holds a fisheries science degree from theUniversity of Washington. His nomination to the IPHC was backed bythe state's most influential sport-fishing organizations. And hereportedly had solid political connections on the East Coast,connections willing to put a good word in for him with NOAA. 'Awfully convenient' It didn't hurt that he's a 59-year-old card-carrying Democrat, andNOAA is an organization now working under a Democraticadministration. Alaska is, on the other hand, steadfastlyRepublican, and some in the sport-fishing fishing community havequestioned whether that had anything to do with Trooper Tim Hall'sdecision to dig deep into Ohaus's bi-coastal lifestyle to chargehim with the five misdemeanors. "It's awfully convenient,' said Heath Hilyard, executive directorof the SouthEast Alaska Guides Organization . "Why didn't this come up last year, or why didn't this come upsix months ago?' Ohaus has now apparently withdrawn his name for the IPHC seatreserved for someone from Alaska. Hall's affidavit says thetrooper "on 5/23 received a copy of a letter Ohaus sent to Dr. JimBalsinger (Alaska's NOAA chief) asking that his IPHC nomination beconsidered on the terms of a non-resident rather than a resident.In the letter Ohaus states, 'Upon reviewing a number of legaldefinitions, in light of personal/family obligations, I am unableto commit indefinite presence in the state of Alaska for the nextseveral years.' NOAA Alaska spokeswoman Julie Speegle refused to release Ohaus'application, but said she would forward a request to the agency'sFreedom of Information Act office. Meanwhile, Ohaus has alreadybeen taking a beating on commercial fishing blogs. The chargesfiled against him led the Southeast Alaska Seiners Association blogto label the guide " Tom Ohaus of SitkaChussetts.' The blog went on to accuse him of " diligently lobbying the (Alaska) Board of Fish . . . and the statelegislature and the (North Pacific Fisheries Management) Councilfor a few years now. While we will not comment on the merits of the case or furtherindulge ourselves in the tit for tat that the sporties used againstour forever friend, Arne Fuglvog, (in more than a few sportcircles, a screw up is now called a 'fuglvog'), we are at leastcomforted in renaming the 'fuglvog' the 'ohaus'. "T his residency thing is a serious one and at least a few folks havespent considerable jail time over the residency issue .". I am an expert from homedecorationsupplier.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Designer Wall Clocks , Removable Wall Stickers, Wall Sticker Clock,and more.
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