CSHJR 38(FSH): Relating to reauthorization of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
00CS FOR HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 38(FSH) 01 Relating to reauthorization of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management 02 Act. 03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 WHEREAS the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (hereinafter 05 "the Act") established a fishery conservation zone, now known as the exclusive economic zone 06 (EEZ), out to 200 miles from the shoreline of Alaska and the other states to protect, conserve, 07 and manage the extensive fisheries resources of the continental shelf; and 08 WHEREAS coastal communities of Alaska lie adjacent to, and depend upon, the 09 fishery resources of the federally managed EEZ in the Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska, and North 10 Pacific Ocean off Alaska; and 11 WHEREAS the Act provides for the management of the fishery resources of the EEZ 12 through regional fishery management councils and by the National Marine Fisheries Service; 13 and 14 WHEREAS the United States Congress is currently considering the reauthorization of
01 the Act; and 02 WHEREAS several issues of national and regional importance are being considered 03 as part of the reauthorization process for the Act; 04 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the 05 Congress to reauthorize the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act with the 06 following provisions: 07 (1) authorize the regional fishery management councils to minimize the bycatch 08 of unwanted species, sizes, or sexes of fishery resources and to promote full utilization of 09 fishery resources; 10 (2) require the regional fishery management councils to establish and 11 implement protections against overfishing of all species of fishery resources; 12 (3) establish reasonable restrictions on direct, personal, and financial conflicts 13 of interest by members of the regional fishery management councils, provided that those 14 restrictions recognize that minor insignificant conflicts are inevitable and acceptable given the 15 nature of the membership of the regional fishery management councils; 16 (4) establish a moratorium, for a minimum of three years, upon the 17 establishment and implementation of individual fishery quota systems for federally managed 18 fisheries; 19 (5) provide a portion of the annual harvest in a fishery subject to individual 20 transferrable quotas for entry level fishermen or small vessel owners who do not hold 21 individual transferrable quotas; 22 (6) require a portion of fees or rents collected from federally managed fisheries 23 be distributed to the adjacent coastal states for fishery conservation and management purposes; 24 (7) require that the federal fee system for federally managed fisheries allow 25 a deduction for other local, state, and federal fishing fees and taxes that are paid by fishermen; 26 (8) amend 16 U.S.C. 1856 to authorize the extension of state jurisdiction into 27 the exclusive economic zone when a North Pacific Fishery Management Council fishery 28 management plan does not exist; and 29 (9) authorize the establishment and implementation of community development 30 quota or community protection set-aside programs for the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 31 areas to aid fishery development and recognize the economic dependence of coastal
01 communities upon fishing; and be it 02 FURTHER RESOLVED by the Alaska State Legislature that fees, taxes, or royalties 03 levied on the harvesting or processing of fishery resources in the exclusive economic zone 04 must recognize and give credit for other federal, state, and local fees, taxes, and royalties also 05 levied on those same activities and that revenue derived from fees, taxes, or royalties levied 06 on the harvesting or processing of fishery resources in the exclusive economic zone be utilized 07 for the management, enforcement, research, and administration of fishery programs in the 08 areas where the revenue was derived; and be it 09 FURTHER RESOLVED by the Alaska State Legislature that the National Marine 10 Fisheries Service should receive the funding necessary to provide the regional fishery 11 management councils with sufficient biological information to implement controls against 12 overfishing and with the research needed to understand and manage fishery resources; and be 13 it 14 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully opposes any 15 proposal to alter the established composition of the North Pacific Fishery Management 16 Council. 17 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Frank Murkowski, Chair, 18 United States Senate, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources; the Honorable Don 19 Young, Chair, United States House of Representatives, Committee on Resources; and to the 20 Honorable Ted Stevens, Chair, United States Senate Subcommittee on Oceans and Fisheries 21 of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.