HB 396: "An Act relating to management of salmon and other fish stocks and salmon fisheries and to the use of funds received by an enhancement facility from the sale of fish."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 396 01 "An Act relating to management of salmon and other fish stocks and salmon fisheries 02 and to the use of funds received by an enhancement facility from the sale of fish." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 16.05.251(h) is amended to read: 05 (h) The Board of Fisheries shall adopt by regulation a policy for the 06 management of mixed stock fisheries. The policy must [SHALL] provide for the 07 management of mixed stock fisheries in a manner that is consistent with maximum 08 sustained yield of important and dominant salmon stocks and with sustained yield 09 of other wild fish stocks. In this subsection, "important and dominant salmon 10 stocks" means those salmon stocks that are either an important salmon stock or a 11 dominant salmon stock as those terms are defined under AS 16.05.740. 12 * Sec. 2. AS 16.05.730(a) is amended to read: 13 (a) Fish stocks in the state shall be managed consistent with maximum 14 sustained yield of important and dominant salmon stocks and with sustained yield
01 of other wild fish stocks and may be managed consistent with sustained yield of 02 enhanced fish stocks. 03 * Sec. 3. AS 16.05.730(b) is amended to read: 04 (b) In allocating enhanced fish stocks, the board shall consider the need of fish 05 enhancement projects to obtain brood stock. The board shall [MAY] direct the 06 department to manage fisheries in the state to achieve an adequate return of fish from 07 enhanced stocks to enhancement projects for brood stock; however, management to 08 achieve an adequate return of fish to enhancement projects for brood stock shall be 09 consistent with maximum sustained yield of important and dominant salmon 10 stocks and with sustained yield of other wild fish stocks. 11 * Sec. 4. AS 16.05.730(c) is amended to read: 12 (c) The board shall [MAY] consider the need of enhancement projects 13 authorized under AS 16.10.400 and contractors who operate state-owned enhancement 14 projects under AS 16.10.480 to harvest and sell fish produced by the enhancement 15 project that are not needed for brood stock to obtain funds for the purposes allowed 16 under AS 16.10.450 or 16.10.480(d). The board shall [MAY] exercise its authority 17 under this title as it considers necessary to direct the department to provide a 18 reasonable harvest of fish, in addition to the fish needed for brood stock, to an 19 enhancement project to obtain funds for the purposes allowed under AS 16.10.450 20 or 16.10.480(d) [ENHANCEMENT PROJECT] if the harvest is consistent with 21 maximum sustained yield of important and dominant salmon stocks and with 22 sustained yield of other wild fish stocks. [THE BOARD MAY ADOPT A FISHERY 23 MANAGEMENT PLAN TO PROVIDE FISH TO AN ENHANCEMENT PROJECT 24 TO OBTAIN FUNDS FOR THE PURPOSES ALLOWED UNDER AS 16.10.450 OR 25 16.10.480(d).] 26 * Sec. 5. AS 16.05.730(d) is amended to read: 27 (d) In this section, 28 (1) "enhancement project" means a project, facility, or hatchery for the 29 enhancement of fishery resources of the state for which the department has issued a 30 permit; 31 (2) "important and dominant salmon stocks" means those salmon
01 stocks that are either an important salmon stock or a dominant salmon stock as 02 those terms are defined under AS 16.05.740. 03 * Sec. 6. AS 16.05 is amended by adding a new section to article 5 to read: 04 Sec. 16.05.740. Management of salmon stocks and salmon fisheries. (a) 05 The commissioner and the Board of Fisheries shall manage the important salmon 06 stocks and dominant salmon stocks of the state for maximum sustained yield, to the 07 extent practicable, to achieve the greatest benefits for the people of the state. 08 (b) The commissioner shall adopt and revise as necessary escapement goals 09 and harvest goals for important salmon stocks and dominant salmon stocks utilizing 10 the best reliable scientific information available to the department. To the extent 11 practicable, the commissioner shall expeditiously collect information necessary to 12 manage important salmon stocks and dominant salmon stocks for maximum sustained 13 yield. The commissioner shall manage salmon fisheries through emergency orders 14 issued under AS 16.05.060 to achieve the escapement goals and harvest goals for the 15 stocks taken in the fisheries. The commissioner shall exercise the professional 16 judgment of the department to manage salmon stocks for which escapement goals or 17 harvest goals have not been established for the highest level of sustainable yield that is 18 practicable. For a minor stock for which the commissioner finds that it is not practical 19 to manage the stock for maximum sustained yield, the commissioner shall exercise the 20 professional judgment of the department to ensure that the escapement level for the 21 stock is maintained at a level that provides for sustained yield of the stock. In the 22 absence of sufficient information to establish an escapement goal or harvest goal for a 23 salmon stock consistent with maximum sustained yield, the department shall manage 24 the stock for sustained yield. The commissioner shall manage salmon for sustained 25 yield in accordance with the following requirements: 26 (1) where the presence of multiple salmon stocks or species in a 27 fishery or management area results in the inability to simultaneously achieve 28 escapement goals for all of the stocks or species, the commissioner shall seek a 29 balance during the fishing season of the escapements for all stocks and species in a 30 manner that does the least harm collectively to the productivity of all stocks and 31 species in the fishery or management area;
01 (2) the commissioner shall balance the harm of reducing escapements 02 below the escapement goal for weaker salmon stocks with increasing escapements 03 above the escapement goal for stronger salmon stocks without regard to the allocative 04 effects of the decision; 05 (3) the commissioner shall manage important, dominant, and more 06 productive salmon stocks for maximum sustained yield and minor or less productive 07 salmon stocks for sustained yield in order to achieve the greatest benefits for the 08 people of the state; 09 (4) in the absence of a management plan, when management measures 10 affect two or more competing groups of users, the commissioner shall regulate salmon 11 fisheries in a manner that allows for the best probability of simultaneously achieving 12 the escapement goals for all important salmon stocks and dominant salmon stocks 13 with the least disruption to users with no other alternative fisheries in the management 14 area; in this paragraph, "management area" means a salmon net gear registration area 15 established by the Board of Fisheries by regulation; 16 (5) the commissioner shall conserve depressed salmon stocks and, as 17 practicable, rehabilitate and enhance depressed salmon stocks; 18 (6) the commissioner is responsible for conservation of salmon stocks 19 and shall avoid overharvest that may threaten the sustained yield of a salmon stock; 20 (7) the commissioner shall avoid overescapement that may threaten the 21 maximum sustained yield of an important salmon stock, dominant salmon stock, or 22 more productive salmon stock or the sustained yield of other salmon stocks. 23 (c) The board shall adopt by regulation policies providing for utilization and 24 development of salmon stocks, including the allocation of the harvestable portion of 25 each salmon stock among the fisheries of the state. The policies must be consistent 26 with the salmon escapement goals and harvest goals established by the commissioner. 27 The board shall allocate the harvestable portion of salmon stocks in accordance with 28 AS 16.05.258 and, except as otherwise provided in this section, AS 16.05.251(e), and 29 in accordance with the following requirements: 30 (1) for salmon fisheries that are fully developed, the board may not 31 (A) exclude existing, historic users from taking their historic
01 level of the harvest of a salmon stock except to achieve conservation goals 02 adopted by the commissioner; 03 (B) authorize escapement of more salmon than are necessary to 04 satisfy escapement goals adopted by the commissioner; 05 (2) the board shall give priority consideration to the history of use of a 06 salmon stock by a fishery and to the stability of fisheries when fishery management 07 decisions are adopted; 08 (3) where established fisheries have historically harvested a salmon 09 stock that originates in an area outside the area where the fisheries occur, the board 10 shall maintain harvests of that stock by those fisheries at historical levels except as 11 necessary to achieve conservation goals adopted by the commissioner; 12 (4) the board shall provide that salmon in excess of the number needed 13 to satisfy escapement goals adopted by the commissioner are available for harvest to 14 prevent overescapement or waste of salmon. 15 (d) If there is a conflict between this section and AS 16.05.251, this section 16 shall prevail. 17 (e) In this section, 18 (1) "conservation" means the supervision, management, protection, 19 improvement, maintenance, and use of a fishery resource to ensure the highest social 20 as well as economic benefits from the harvest of the resource; 21 (2) "dominant salmon stock" means a wild salmon stock that is 22 consistently more productive and numerically more abundant or is consistently more 23 commercially valuable than other salmon stocks; 24 (3) "important salmon stock" means a wild salmon stock for which the 25 department has established a scientifically based escapement goal and a stock 26 management plan to maintain the stock at escapement levels consistent with maximum 27 sustained yield of the stock; 28 (4) "maximum sustained yield" means achievement and maintenance 29 in perpetuity of the highest level of annual or periodic yield of a renewable resource; 30 (5) "minor salmon stock" means a salmon stock that is not an 31 important salmon stock or dominant salmon stock;
01 (6) "sustained escapement threshold" means the threshold level of 02 escapement of a salmon stock below which the ability of the stock to sustain itself is 03 jeopardized; 04 (7) "sustained yield" means an average annual yield of a renewable 05 resource that can be maintained on an annual basis.