HB 255: "An Act relating to subsistence hunting and fishing; and providing for an effective date."
00HOUSE BILL NO. 255 01 "An Act relating to subsistence hunting and fishing; and providing for an effective 02 date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 16.05.251(e) is amended to read: 05 (e) The Board of Fisheries may allocate fishery resources among subsistence, 06 personal use, sport, guided sport, and commercial fisheries. The board shall adopt 07 criteria for the allocation of fishery resources and shall use the criteria as appropriate 08 to particular allocation decisions. The criteria for the allocation to and among 09 subsistence uses must be consistent with AS 16.05.258. The criteria for the 10 allocation among personal use, sport, guided sport, and commercial fishing may 11 include factors such as 12 (1) the history of each personal use, sport, guided sport, and 13 commercial fishery; 14 (2) the number of residents and nonresidents who have participated in
01 each fishery in the past and the number of residents and nonresidents who can 02 reasonably be expected to participate in the future; 03 (3) the importance of each fishery for providing residents the 04 opportunity to obtain fish for personal and family consumption; 05 (4) the availability of alternative fisheries resources; 06 (5) the importance of each fishery to the economy of the state; 07 (6) the importance of each fishery to the economy of the region and 08 local area in which the fishery is located; 09 (7) the importance of each fishery in providing recreational 10 opportunities for residents and nonresidents. 11 * Sec. 2. AS 16.05.251 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 12 (i) The Board of Fisheries shall establish by regulation criteria for determining 13 the individuals who may take a fishery resource 14 (1) for subsistence uses; and 15 (2) in a fishery for subsistence uses in the event of restrictions on 16 subsistence uses of the fishery resource. 17 * Sec. 3. AS 16.05.255(a) is amended to read: 18 (a) The Board of Game may adopt regulations it considers advisable in 19 accordance with AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) for 20 (1) setting apart game reserve areas, refuges, and sanctuaries in the 21 water or on the land of the state over which it has jurisdiction, subject to the approval 22 of the legislature; 23 (2) establishing open and closed seasons and areas for the taking of 24 game; 25 (3) establishing the means and methods employed in the pursuit, 26 capture, taking, and transport of game, including regulations, consistent with resource 27 conservation and development goals, establishing means and methods that may be 28 employed by persons with physical disabilities; 29 (4) setting quotas, bag limits, harvest levels, and sex, age, and size 30 limitations on the taking of game; 31 (5) classifying game as game birds, song birds, big game animals, fur
01 bearing animals, predators, or other categories; 02 (6) methods, means, and harvest levels necessary to control predation 03 and competition among game in the state; 04 (7) watershed and habitat improvement, and management, conservation, 05 protection, use, disposal, propagation, and stocking of game; 06 (8) prohibiting the live capture, possession, transport, or release of 07 native or exotic game or their eggs; 08 (9) establishing the times and dates during which the issuance of game 09 licenses, permits, and registrations and the transfer of permits and registrations between 10 registration areas and game management units or subunits is allowed; 11 (10) regulating sport hunting and subsistence hunting, consistent with 12 AS 16.05.258, as needed for the conservation, development, and utilization of game; 13 (11) taking game to ensure public safety; 14 (12) establishing criteria for determining which individuals may 15 take game for subsistence uses and the individuals who may take game from a 16 game population in the event of restrictions on subsistence uses of the game 17 population. 18 * Sec. 4. AS 16.05.258(a) is repealed and reenacted to read: 19 (a) The Board of Fisheries and the Board of Game shall identify the fish 20 stocks and game populations, or portions of stocks and populations, that are 21 customarily and traditionally used for subsistence uses in each area identified by the 22 boards. 23 * Sec. 5. AS 16.05.258(b) is repealed and reenacted to read: 24 (b) The boards shall determine 25 (1) what portion, if any, of the stocks and populations identified under 26 (a) of this section can be harvested consistent with sustained yield; and 27 (2) how much of the harvestable portion is needed to provide a 28 reasonable opportunity to satisfy the subsistence uses of those stocks and populations. 29 * Sec. 6. AS 16.05.258(c) is repealed and reenacted to read: 30 (c) The boards shall, for each stock and population for which a harvestable 31 portion is determined to exist under (b)(1) of this section, allocate by regulation the
01 percentage of the stock or population that may be taken for subsistence uses, for 02 personal uses, for sport uses, and for commercial uses. The percentage allocated for 03 subsistence uses must give a preference to satisfy subsistence uses. If it is necessary 04 to restrict subsistence fishing or subsistence hunting in order to assure sustained yield 05 or continue subsistence uses, then the preference shall be limited, and the boards shall 06 distinguish among subsistence users on the basis of their 07 (1) customary and direct dependence on the fish stock or game 08 population for human consumption as the mainstay of livelihood; and 09 (2) ability to obtain food if subsistence use is restricted or eliminated. 10 * Sec. 7. AS 16.05.258 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 11 (g) The boards may adopt regulations consistent with this section that authorize 12 taking for nonsubsistence uses a stock or population identified under (a) of this section. 13 * Sec. 8. AS 16.05.940(30) is amended to read: 14 (30) "subsistence fishing" means the taking of, fishing for, or 15 possession of fish, shellfish, or other fisheries resources [BY A RESIDENT 16 DOMICILED IN A RURAL AREA OF THE STATE] for subsistence uses with gill 17 net, seine, fish wheel, long line, or other means defined by the Board of Fisheries; 18 * Sec. 9. AS 16.05.940(31) is amended to read: 19 (31) "subsistence hunting" means the taking of, hunting for, or 20 possession of game [BY A RESIDENT DOMICILED IN A RURAL AREA OF THE 21 STATE] for subsistence uses by means defined by the Board of Game; 22 * Sec. 10. AS 16.05.940(32) is amended to read: 23 (32) "subsistence uses" means the noncommercial, customary and 24 traditional uses of wild, renewable resources by an individual who significantly 25 depends on the resource [A RESIDENT DOMICILED IN A RURAL AREA OF THE 26 STATE] for direct personal or family consumption as food, shelter, fuel, clothing, 27 tools, or transportation, for the making and selling of handicraft articles out of 28 nonedible by-products of fish and wildlife resources taken for personal or family 29 consumption, and for the customary trade, barter, or sharing for personal or family 30 consumption; in this paragraph, "family" means persons related by blood, marriage, or 31 adoption, and a person living in the household on a permanent basis;
01 * Sec. 11. AS 16.05.940(27) is repealed. 02 * Sec. 12. Sections 3, 5, and 9, ch. 1, SSSLA 1992, are repealed. 03 * Sec. 13. TRANSITION. (a) It is the intent of the legislature that the Board of Fisheries 04 and the Board of Game expeditiously adopt regulations necessary to implement secs. 1 - 10 05 of this Act. 06 (b) Regulations adopted by the Board of Fisheries, Board of Game, or Department of 07 Fish and Game after the effective date of this Act may not be inconsistent with the provisions 08 of secs. 1 - 10 of this Act. 09 (c) Regardless of whether regulations in effect on the effective date of this Act, and 10 adopted under the authority of AS 16.05.251, 16.05.255, or 16.05.258, as those statutes read 11 on the day before the effective date of this Act, are inconsistent with the provisions of secs. 12 1 - 10 of this Act, they may continue to be implemented and enforced until October 1, 1997. 13 * Sec. 14. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).