00HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 44                                                                                           
01 Proposing postage stamps honoring wild Alaska salmon and centuries of continued                                         
02 use of wild Alaska salmon for subsistence, sport, and commercial fish harvesters.                                       
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04  WHEREAS the cold, clear, clean waters off Alaska's 34,000 mile coast are the world's                                   
05 greatest resource for natural, wild salmon; and                                                                         
06  WHEREAS Alaska's rivers and streams are the nurseries for the world's most                                             
07 important and productive runs of wild and natural salmon; and                                                           
08  WHEREAS, in the pristine waters of Alaska, the five species of Alaska salmon mature                                    
09 in an unmatched natural environment that provides them with superior flavor, color, and                                 
10 texture; and                                                                                                            
11  WHEREAS wild Alaska salmon have increased in numbers year after year; and                                              
12  WHEREAS Alaska's wild and natural salmon are a mainstay of Alaska's complex                                            
13 subsistence economy and lifestyle, providing protein and adding to the rich complexity of                               
14 Alaska's diverse cultures; and                                                                                          

01  WHEREAS subsistence harvesting of salmon allows extended families to support                                           
02 themselves in meaningful, productive work in areas of the state that do not have cash                                   
03 economies to sustain the protein needs of Alaskans; and                                                                 
04  WHEREAS Alaska's wild and natural salmon play an increasing role in the state's                                        
05 visitor industry, attracting sport anglers from around the world who are served by a growing                            
06 lodge, charter boat, and tourism industry; and                                                                          
07  WHEREAS participation in recreational fishing in Alaska has grown from 46,000                                          
08 anglers at statehood to 426,514 anglers in 1993; and                                                                    
09  WHEREAS there were more than 2,500,000 angler days of fishing in Alaska in 1993;                                       
10 and                                                                                                                     
11  WHEREAS sport angler expenditures translate into gross business revenue of about                                       
12 $500,000,000 and several thousand jobs in Alaska; and                                                                   
13  WHEREAS the premier sport fish in Alaska is wild, natural salmon; and                                                  
14  WHEREAS wild Alaska salmon account for more than 90 percent of all salmon                                              
15 harvested commercially in the United States each year; and                                                              
16  WHEREAS exports of wild Alaska salmon help balance the United States trade deficit                                     
17 because more than 50 percent of the Alaska commercial harvest of salmon is sent overseas;                               
18 and                                                                                                                     
19  WHEREAS exports of wild Alaska salmon were worth nearly $750,000,000 in 1993,                                          
20 the last year for which accurate customs numbers are available; and                                                     
21  WHEREAS more than 35,000 jobs in Alaska rely on the seafood industry and the                                           
22 seafood industry is the largest private sector employer in Alaska; and                                                  
23  WHEREAS the salmon segment of the seafood industry is the oldest component of                                          
24 the industry and one of the most important elements in the industry;                                                    
25  BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports recognition of wild                                          
26 Alaska salmon through the issuance of United States postal stamps recognizing the five                                  
27 species of wild Alaska salmon and centuries of continued use of wild salmon, Alaska's most                              
28 important renewable resource and a resource that is managed on a sustained yield basis for                              
29 the benefit of subsistence, sport, and commercial harvesters.                                                           
30  COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Marvin Runyon, Postmaster                                     
31 General, United States Postal Service; and to the Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable                               

01 Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative,                                       
02 members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.