HB 104: "An Act revising the procedures and authority of the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission, the Board of Fisheries, and the Department of Fish and Game to establish a moratorium on participants or vessels, or both, participating in certain fisheries; and providing for an effective date."
00HOUSE BILL NO. 104 01 "An Act revising the procedures and authority of the Alaska Commercial Fisheries 02 Entry Commission, the Board of Fisheries, and the Department of Fish and Game 03 to establish a moratorium on participants or vessels, or both, participating in 04 certain fisheries; and providing for an effective date." 05 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 * Section 1. AS 16.43.225(a) is repealed and reenacted to read: 07 (a) The commission may establish a moratorium on entry of new participants 08 or vessels, or both, into a fishery, if the commission finds that a moratorium is 09 necessary 10 (1) to promote the conservation and sustained yield management of the 11 state's fishery resource and the economic health and stability of commercial fishing in 12 the state; and 13 (2) for one or more of the following purposes: 14 (A) to allow time for the commission, in consultation with the
01 Department of Fish and Game and the Board of Fisheries, as appropriate, to 02 investigate and evaluate management alternatives, including establishment of 03 a maximum number of entry permits under AS 16.43.240; 04 (B) to allow the commission time to develop regulatory or 05 legislative proposals to address needs of the fishery that cannot be met under 06 existing statutes or regulations; 07 (C) to allow the Department of Fish and Game and the Board 08 of Fisheries to open a fishery or potential fishery that would otherwise remain 09 closed for protection against over harvest resulting from open access into the 10 fishery. 11 * Sec. 2. AS 16.43.225(c) is amended to read: 12 (c) The commission may establish a moratorium under this section for a 13 continuous period of up to four years. A moratorium established under this section 14 may be extended for no more than two additional years if necessary to serve a 15 purpose described under (a) of this section. After a moratorium on entry of new 16 participants or vessels into a fishery has expired, the fishery [THAT HAS BEEN 17 SUBJECT TO A MORATORIUM UNDER THIS SECTION] may not be subjected 18 to a subsequent moratorium on entry of either new participants or new vessels into 19 the fishery [UNDER THIS SECTION] unless five years have elapsed [SINCE THE 20 PREVIOUS MORATORIUM EXPIRED]. 21 * Sec. 3. AS 16.43.225(d) is amended to read: 22 (d) While a moratorium is in effect, the commission shall investigate and 23 evaluate management alternatives, including establishment of [CONDUCT 24 INVESTIGATIONS TO DETERMINE WHETHER] a maximum number of entry 25 permits [SHOULD BE ESTABLISHED] under AS 16.43.240 , by 26 (1) conducting research into conditions in the fishery; 27 (2) consulting with the Department of Fish and Game and the Board 28 of Fisheries; and 29 (3) consulting with participants in the fishery and other members of 30 the public . 31 * Sec. 4. AS 16.43.225(e) is repealed and reenacted to read:
01 (e) The commission shall establish, by regulation, the eligibility criteria for 02 applicants for an interim-use permit, interim-use vessel permit, or both, for a fishery 03 subject to a moratorium under this section. The eligibility criteria for an interim-use 04 permit for a fishery that is subject to a moratorium for a purpose described under 05 (a)(2)(A) or (B) of this section must address the minimum requirements for past or 06 present participation and harvest in the fishery as of a qualification date described in 07 AS 16.43.260(f)(1) or (2). When establishing the eligibility criteria for an interim-use 08 permit for a fishery that is subject to a moratorium solely for the purpose described 09 under (a)(2)(C) of this section, the commission may establish the criteria based upon 10 (1) the minimum requirements for past or present participation and 11 harvest 12 (A) in the fishery as of the qualification date described in 13 AS 16.43.260(f)(1) or (2); or 14 (B) in a similar or related fishery if the fishery for which the 15 interim-use permit is being considered has either remained closed in years 16 immediately before the qualification date or has never been open; or 17 (2) a combination of the minimum requirements for past or present 18 participation in the fisheries described in (1)(A) and (B) of this subsection. 19 * Sec. 5. AS 16.43.225 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 20 (f) The commission may not issue an interim-use permit or an interim-use 21 vessel permit for a fishery subject to a moratorium under this section unless the 22 applicant satisfies the qualifications established under (e) of this section and establishes 23 the present ability and intent to participate actively in the fishery. 24 (g) A permit issued under this section is a use privilege that may be modified 25 or revoked by law without compensation. 26 (h) Notwithstanding AS 16.05.815 and AS 16.43.975, the commission may 27 release to a vessel owner information on the vessel's history of harvests in a fishery 28 or other relevant information that is necessary to apply for an interim-use vessel 29 permit. 30 (i) The commission may charge a fee for the privileges conveyed by an 31 interim-use vessel permit issued under this section. The fee must reasonably reflect
01 the rate of economic return for the relevant fishery, except that, by regulation, the 02 commission may provide for a reduced fee for an applicant who has a family income 03 falling within the federal poverty guidelines as adjusted by the commission to reflect 04 appropriate cost-of-living differentials. 05 (j) Unless provided otherwise by a state statute or regulation, neither a permit 06 issued under this section nor the use of the permit or a permitted vessel in the fishery 07 subject to a moratorium under this section may be used to establish eligibility for a 08 permit in that fishery after the expiration of the moratorium. 09 (k) The commission may adopt regulations providing for the transfer of an 10 interim-use vessel permit to another vessel if the original permitted vessel is sunk, 11 destroyed, or damaged to the extent that the vessel is inoperable for the fishery for 12 which the permit is issued. 13 (l) As permitted by federal law and consistent with this chapter, the 14 commission may establish a moratorium on entry of new participants or vessels, or 15 both, into offshore fisheries adjacent to territorial waters of the state. 16 (m) The commission shall annually inform the Board of Fisheries and the 17 Department of Fish and Game of 18 (1) petitions received by the commission that request the commission 19 to adopt regulations establishing a moratorium on entrants into a fishery and the action 20 taken by the commission in response to each petition; 21 (2) the fisheries that are currently subject to a moratorium on new 22 entrants and the status of investigations to determine whether a maximum number of 23 entry permits should be established for the fishery; and 24 (3) the fisheries that are currently subject to a moratorium on new 25 entrants for which the commission has determined that the level of participation in the 26 fishery requires that entry into the fishery be limited in order to achieve the purposes 27 of this chapter. 28 * Sec. 6. AS 16.43.260(f) is amended to read: 29 (f) When the commission establishes the maximum number of entry permits 30 under AS 16.43.240 for a fishery that is subject to a moratorium under AS 16.43.225, 31 the commission shall determine which one of the following three dates listed in (1)
01 - (3) of this subsection shall be used to determine the priority classification among 02 applicants. Each [AN] applicant for an entry permit for the fishery shall be assigned 03 to a priority classification based on [SOLELY UPON] the applicant's qualifications as 04 of 05 (1) January 1 of the year during which the commission established 06 the moratorium; 07 (2) the date of the commission's order providing for public notice 08 of the proposed regulatory action to establish the moratorium; or 09 (3) the date of the commission's order providing for public notice 10 of the proposed regulatory action to establish the maximum number [THE 11 EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE STATUTE OR REGULATION ESTABLISHING THE 12 MORATORIUM]. 13 * Sec. 7. AS 16.43.911 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 14 (f) In this section, "vessel permit" means 15 (1) a vessel permit issued under AS 16.43.901 or 16.43.906; and 16 (2) an interim-use vessel permit issued under AS 16.43.225. 17 * Sec. 8. Section 6, ch. 97, SLA 1997, is amended to read: 18 Sec. 6. AS 16.43.906, added by sec. 3 of this Act, and AS 16.43.911(c) 19 [AS 16.43.911] are repealed July 1, 2001. 20 * Sec. 9. AS 16.05.050(a)(19), 16.05.251(g); and AS 16.43.225(b) are repealed. 21 * Sec. 10. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).