00                            HOUSE BILL NO. 264                                                                          
01 "An Act relating to commercial fisheries test fishing operations of the Department of                                   
02 Fish and Game."                                                                                                         
03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
04    * Section 1.  AS 16.05.050(a) is amended to read:                                                                  
05            (a)  The commissioner has, but not by way of limitation, the following powers                                
06       and duties:                                                                                                       
07                 (1)  to assist the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in the                                       
08       enforcement of federal laws and regulations pertaining to fish and game;                                          
09                 (2)  through the appropriate state agency and under the provisions of                                   
10       AS 36.30 (State Procurement Code), to acquire by gift, purchase, or lease, or other                               
11       lawful means, land, buildings, water, rights-of-way, or other necessary or proper real                            
12       or personal property when the acquisition is in the interest of furthering an objective or                        
13       purpose of the department and the state;                                                                          
14                 (3)  under the provisions of AS 36.30, to design and construct                                          

01       hatcheries, pipelines, rearing ponds, fishways, and other projects beneficial for the fish                        
02       and game resources of the state;                                                                                  
03                 (4)  to accept money from any person under conditions requiring the                                     
04       use of the money for specific purposes in the furtherance of the protection,                                      
05       rehabilitation, propagation, preservation, or investigation of the fish and game                                  
06       resources of the state or in settlement of claims for damages to fish or game resources;                          
07                 (5)  to collect, classify, and disseminate statistics, data and information                             
08       that, in the commissioner's discretion, will tend to promote the purposes of this title                           
09       except AS 16.51 and AS 16.52;                                                                                     
10                 (6)  to take, capture, propagate, transport, buy, sell, or exchange fish or                             
11       game or eggs for propagating, scientific, public safety, or stocking purposes;                                    
12                 (7)  under the provisions of AS 36.30, to provide public facilities where                               
13       necessary or proper to facilitate the taking of fish or game, and to enter into                                   
14       cooperative agreements with any person to effect them;                                                            
15                 (8)  to exercise administrative, budgeting, and fiscal powers;                                          
16                 (9)  under the provisions of AS 36.30, to construct, operate, supervise,                                
17       and maintain vessels used by the department;                                                                      
18                 (10)  to authorize the holder of an interim-use permit under AS 16.43 to                                
19       engage on an experimental basis in commercial taking of a fishery resource with                                   
20       vessel, gear, and techniques not presently qualifying for licensing under this chapter in                         
21       conformity with standards established by the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry                                    
22       Commission;                                                                                                       
23                 (11)  not later than January 31 of each year, to provide to the                                         
24       commissioner of revenue the names of those fish and shellfish species that the                                    
25       commissioner of fish and game designates as developing commercial fish species for                                
26       that calendar year; a fish or shellfish species is a developing commercial fish species                           
27       if, within a specified geographical region,                                                                       
28                      (A)  the optimum yield from the harvest of the species has not                                     
29            been reached;                                                                                                
30                      (B)  a substantial portion of the allowable harvest of the species                                 
31            has been allocated to fishing vessels of a foreign nation; or                                                

01                      (C)  a commercial harvest of the fish species has recently                                         
02            developed;                                                                                                   
03                 (12)  to initiate or conduct research necessary or advisable to carry out                               
04       the purposes of this title except AS 16.51 and AS 16.52;                                                          
05                 (13)  to enter into cooperative agreements with agencies of the federal                                 
06       government, educational institutions, or other agencies or organizations, when in the                             
07       public interest, to carry out the purposes of this title except AS 16.51 and AS 16.52;                            
08                 (14)  to implement an on-board observer program authorized by the                                       
09       Board of Fisheries under AS 16.05.251(a)(13); implementation                                                      
10                      (A)  must be as unintrusive to vessel operations as practicable;                                   
11            and                                                                                                          
12                      (B)  must make scheduling and scope of observers' activities as                                    
13            predictable as practicable;                                                                                  
14                 (15)  to sell fish caught during commercial fisheries test fishing                                      
15       operations; under this paragraph, the commissioner may only                                                   
16                      (A)  retain fish that are killed during test fishing operations                                
17            or that would not survive if returned to the water as the result of injuries                             
18            received during test fishing operations; and                                                             
19                      (B)  sell fish that are retained by a specific test fishing                                    
20            operation as necessary to recover the costs of that test fishing operation                               
21            and may not sell fish to generate revenue for the state in excess of the costs                           
22            of the specific test fishing operation in which the fish were retained;                                  
23                 (16)  to establish and charge fees equal to the cost of services provided                               
24       by the department, including provision of public shooting ranges, broodstock and eggs                             
25       for private nonprofit hatcheries, department publications, and other direct services, and                         
26       reasonable fees for the use of state facilities managed by the department; fees                                   
27       established under this paragraph for tours of hatchery facilities, commercial use of                              
28       sport fishing access sites, and for operation of state hatchery facilities by private                             
29       aquaculture associations are not subject to the cost limit under AS 37.10.050(a);                                 
30                 (17)  to permit and regulate aquatic farming in the state in a manner                                   
31       that ensures the protection of the state's fish and game resources and improves the                               

01       economy, health, and well-being of the citizens of the state;                                                     
02                 (18)  to operate state housing and facilities for employees, contractors,                               
03       and others in support of the department's responsibilities and to charge rent that is                             
04       consistent with applicable collective bargaining agreements, or, if no collective                                 
05       bargaining agreement is applicable, competitive with market conditions; rent received                             
06       from tenants shall be deposited in the general fund;                                                              
07                 (19)  to petition the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission,                                     
08       unless the Board of Fisheries disapproves the petition under AS 16.05.251(g), to                                  
09       establish a moratorium on new entrants into commercial fisheries                                                  
10                      (A)  that have experienced recent increases in fishing effort that                                 
11            are beyond a low, sporadic level of effort;                                                                  
12                      (B)  that have achieved a level of harvest that may be                                             
13            approaching or exceeding the maximum sustainable level for the fishery; and                                  
14                      (C)  for which there is insufficient biological and resource                                       
15            management information necessary to promote the conservation and sustained                                   
16            yield management of the fishery.