00                      HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 10                                                                     
01 Relating to the management of the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska                                        
02 groundfish fisheries and the protection and restoration of the Steller sea lion.                                        
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04       WHEREAS the population of Steller sea lions has substantially declined over the past                            
05 25 years; and                                                                                                           
06       WHEREAS the National Marine Fisheries Service has listed the western Alaska                                     
07 population of Steller sea lions as endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973; and                             
08       WHEREAS the reasons for the decline in the population of Steller sea lions are                                  
09 poorly understood; under one theory, the decline is associated with high levels of groundfish                           
10 (particularly pollock), Pacific cod, and Atka mackerel harvest; and                                                     
11       WHEREAS the National Marine Fisheries Service, as the result of litigation and                                  
12 criticism by a federal district court, has undertaken a series of increasingly strict restrictions                      
13 on groundfish fishing in areas where Steller sea lions congregate; and                                                  
14       WHEREAS the National Marine Fisheries Service lacks an adequate scientific basis                                
15 for such restrictions on groundfish fishing and has not explained why the restrictions are                              
16 scientifically or legally necessary; and                                                                                

01       WHEREAS regulations promulgated by the National Marine Fisheries Service in July                                
02 2000, banned all trawlers from fishing within 20 miles of 122 rookeries and haul-outs and                               
03 three large "at-sea foraging areas" in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska from Prince William                            
04 Sound to the Aleutian Islands chain; and                                                                                
05       WHEREAS these regulations had the effect of closing the majority of the groundfish                              
06 fishery; and                                                                                                            
07       WHEREAS the economic loss to the groundfish fishing fleet in the Bering Sea and                                 
08 Gulf of Alaska is estimated to exceed $170,000,000 if the regulations remain in effect through                          
09 the first half of 2001; and                                                                                             
10       WHEREAS additional immeasurable economic losses would be suffered by                                            
11 businesses, families, and individuals who rely on this fishery for economic support and by                              
12 state and local governments that receive taxes from this fishery; and                                                   
13       WHEREAS the United States Congress, through the efforts of Senator Ted Stevens,                                 
14 has been able to delay to some extent the full impact of these regulations and new measures                             
15 proposed in the biological opinion of November 30, 2000; and                                                            
16       WHEREAS, during 2001, the United States Department of Commerce and the                                          
17 National Marine Fisheries Service are to cooperate with the North Pacific Fishery                                       
18 Management Council and the National Academy of Sciences in conducting an independent                                    
19 scientific review of the November 30, 2000, biological opinion for the Bering Sea/Aleutian                              
20 Islands and Gulf of Alaska groundfish fisheries; to prepare proposed conservation and                                   
21 management measures for the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska groundfish                                   
22 fisheries; to develop and implement a coordinated comprehensive research and recovery                                   
23 program for the Steller sea lion; and to provide funds for payment to communities, businesses,                          
24 groups, and individuals to mitigate the economic losses caused by Steller sea lion protection                           
25 measures;                                                                                                               
26       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature expresses its support for the                                  
27 efforts of the United States Congress and Senator Ted Stevens to place restrictions on the                              
28 implementation of the alternatives contained in the November 30, 2000, biological opinion                               
29 prepared by the National Marine Fisheries Service; and be it                                                            
30       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature also expresses its support                                   
31 for the independent scientific review of the November 30, 2000, biological opinion for the                              

01 Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska groundfish fisheries; and be it                                          
02       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the                                    
03 United States Department of Commerce and the National Marine Fisheries Service to work                                  
04 with the North Pacific Fishery Management Council to develop a scientifically sound and                                 
05 legally sufficient management program for the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands and Gulf of                                   
06 Alaska groundfish fisheries that harmonizes the pollock, Pacific cod, and Atka mackerel                                 
07 fisheries with the requirements of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 for the protection and                            
08 restoration of the Steller sea lion in western Alaska by December 31, 2002.                                             
09       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Donald L. Evans, United                                
10 States Secretary of Commerce; the Honorable Penelope D. Dalton, Assistant Administrator,                                
11 National Marine Fisheries Service, United States Department of Commerce; and to the                                     
12 Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the                                         
13 Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.