00CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 107(FSH)                                                                                          
01 "An Act relating to restrictions attached to certain commercial fisheries limited                                       
02 entry permits."                                                                                                         
03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
04    * Section 1.  FINDINGS.  The legislature finds that                                                                  
05   (1)  limited entry is an important state management tool to promote                                                   
06 conservation and sustained yield management of fisheries resources of the state and to                                  
07 preserve and sustain the benefits of fisheries development for Alaska;                                                  
08   (2)  there is a need for effective access restrictions; however, in some fisheries                                    
09 access restrictions alone do not adequately control post-limitation increases in fishing capacity                       
10 and effort;                                                                                                             
11   (3)  restricting the fishing capacity associated with entry permits for a particular                                  
12 fishery would make a portion of the entry permits for that fishery more affordable for entry                            
13 level fishermen;                                                                                                        
14   (4)  this Act allows the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission to                                              

01 "grandfather" participants into newly limited fisheries at levels of fishing capacity that reflect                      
02 each participant's historic level of participation before limitation; and                                               
03   (5)  this Act does not alter or limit the powers of the Board of Fisheries to                                         
04 impose additional restrictions on fishing capacity.                                                                     
05    * Sec. 2.  AS 16.43.150(a) is amended to read:                                                                       
06  (a)  Except as may be otherwise provided under AS 16.43.270(d), an                                                  
07 [EACH] entry permit authorizes the permittee to operate a unit of gear within a                                         
08 specified fishery.                                                                                                      
09    * Sec. 3.  AS 16.43.270 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:                                               
10  (d)  The commission may restrict the fishing capacity employed under an entry                                         
11 permit if, before the initial issuance of entry permits for a fishery, the commission                                   
12 determines that the fishing capacity in the fishery must be limited to achieve the                                      
13 purposes of this chapter, establishes criteria for determining the fishing capacity that                                
14 is allowed under an entry permit, and establishes how fishing capacity will be                                          
15 measured.  The maximum fishing capacity allowed under an entry permit must be                                           
16 based upon past participation in the fishery by the initial recipient of the entry permit                               
17 during a period, specified by the commission, preceding the qualification date                                          
18 established under AS 16.43.260.  The commission may define fishing capacity in terms                                    
19 of quantity of fishing gear, a proportion of the maximum amount of gear that can be                                     
20 utilized in the fishery under regulations of the Board of Fisheries, fishing vessel size                                
21 or other characteristics, or other factors determined by the commission to affect the                                   
22 amount of fishing effort in the fishery.  The recipient or transferee of an entry permit                                
23 issued subject to this subsection may not exceed the fishing capacity allowed under the                                 
24 entry permit.