HJR 23: Relating to the Western Alaska Community Development Quota Program and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council Comprehensive Rationalization Program.
00HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 23 01 Relating to the Western Alaska Community Development Quota Program and the 02 North Pacific Fishery Management Council Comprehensive Rationalization Program. 03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 WHEREAS the Western Alaska Community Development Quota (CDQ) Program is 05 a fisheries development program involving the federal Department of Commerce, the North 06 Pacific Fishery Management Council, the State of Alaska, and 56 Bering Sea coast, Aleutian 07 Islands, and Pribilof Islands communities; and 08 WHEREAS the CDQ program has set aside 7.5 percent of the available Bering Sea 09 pollock quota during 1992 through 1995 for Bering Sea coast, Aleutian Islands, and Pribilof 10 Islands communities; and 11 WHEREAS the amount of pollock available for harvest under the CDQ program is 12 more than 100,000 metric tons per year and has an approximate annual value of $20,000,000; 13 and 14 WHEREAS the CDQ program allocates the available harvest of pollock among
01 eligible communities, local fishermen's organizations, and local economic development 02 organizations who in turn reinvest the proceeds from the harvest and processing of the pollock 03 in additional local fisheries development projects; and 04 WHEREAS the CDQ program has been expanded to include halibut and sablefish 05 (black cod); and 06 WHEREAS the CDQ program is important to the economic development of the 07 Bering Sea coast, Aleutian Islands, and Pribilof Islands communities; and 08 WHEREAS the North Pacific Fishery Management Council established the CDQ 09 program as a component of the inshore and offshore allocation of Bering Sea pollock; and 10 WHEREAS the CDQ program represents an unparalleled opportunity for long-term 11 stable economic development for the communities of the Bering Sea coast, Aleutian Islands, 12 and Pribilof Islands; and 13 WHEREAS the North Pacific Fishery Management Council is preparing to adopt a 14 comprehensive rationalization plan for groundfish and crab in the Bering Sea and Aleutian 15 Islands area; 16 BE IT RESOLVED by the Alaska State Legislature that the North Pacific Fishery 17 Management Council is respectfully requested to allocate groundfish and crab to the Western 18 Alaska Community Development Quota (CDQ) groups as part of any comprehensive 19 rationalization plan that the council prepares. 20 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Ron Brown, Secretary of the 21 U.S. Department of Commerce; Richard B. Lauber, chair of the North Pacific Fishery 22 Management Council; and to the Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Frank Murkowski, 23 U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska 24 delegation in Congress.