CSSB 347(RES): "An Act relating to moratoria on entry of new participants or vessels into a commercial fishery; relating to vessel permits for, and the establishment of a moratorium on entry of new vessels into, state Gulf of Alaska groundfish fisheries; and providing for an effective date."
00 CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 347(RES) 01 "An Act relating to moratoria on entry of new participants or vessels into a commercial 02 fishery; relating to vessel permits for, and the establishment of a moratorium on entry of 03 new vessels into, state Gulf of Alaska groundfish fisheries; and providing for an effective 04 date." 05 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 07 to read: 08 FINDINGS AND PURPOSE WITH REGARD TO A MORATORIUM ON ENTRY 09 OF NEW VESSELS INTO STATE GULF OF ALASKA GROUNDFISH FISHERIES. (a) 10 The Alaska State Legislature finds that 11 (1) the goal of the state is to 12 (A) protect, maintain, and improve the fishery resources of the state, 13 and manage the use and development of those fishery resources in the best interest of 14 the economy and the well-being of the people of the state, consistent with the
01 sustained yield principle; and 02 (B) promote the conservation and sustained yield management of 03 Alaska fishery resources and the economic health and stability of commercial fishing 04 in the state by regulating and controlling entry of participants and vessels into 05 commercial fisheries in the public interest and without unjust discrimination; 06 (2) the North Pacific Fishery Management Council has undertaken an analysis 07 of the Gulf of Alaska groundfish fisheries in the United States exclusive economic zone off 08 Alaska and has begun consideration of action that may result in significant reductions in the 09 number of fishermen and vessels that may participate in those fisheries; 10 (3) in order to adequately protect state groundfish fishery resources of the Gulf 11 of Alaska and to protect those dependent upon the groundfish fisheries from economic 12 distress, management measures must be considered that will mitigate effects from the 13 pressures that will result from rationalization in the federal groundfish fisheries adjacent to 14 state groundfish fisheries; 15 (4) a timely, temporary moratorium on effort in the state-managed groundfish 16 fisheries west of Cape Suckling will control growth during development of a long-term plan 17 for the management of state Gulf of Alaska groundfish fisheries. 18 (b) The purposes of the moratorium on entry of new vessels into the state Gulf of 19 Alaska groundfish fisheries established by this Act are to 20 (1) immediately impose a moratorium on entry of new vessels into the state 21 Gulf of Alaska groundfish fisheries west of Cape Suckling to temporarily protect Alaska 22 fisheries, fishermen, and those dependent on them for a livelihood from potential adverse 23 consequences of action the North Pacific Fishery Management Council is expected to take to 24 reduce participation in the Gulf of Alaska groundfish fisheries in the United States exclusive 25 economic zone off Alaska, while avoiding unnecessary restrictions on entry to Alaska 26 commercial fisheries; 27 (2) require, during the state Gulf of Alaska groundfish fishery vessel 28 moratorium in state water, study of whether permanent limitation on entry into these 29 groundfish fisheries is necessary and, if so, whether statutory changes are necessary in order 30 to implement an effective limited access program in those groundfish fisheries; and 31 (3) provide time to pursue statutory or regulatory changes necessary to
01 provide for the long-term management of Alaska groundfish fisheries. 02 * Sec. 2. AS 16.43.225(a) is repealed and reenacted to read: 03 (a) The commission may establish a moratorium on entry of new persons or 04 vessels, or both, into a commercial fishery if the commission finds that the moratorium 05 is necessary 06 (1) to promote the conservation and sustained yield management of the 07 fishery resource and the economic health and stability of the commercial fishery; and 08 (2) either 09 (A) to allow time for the commission to develop regulatory or 10 legislative proposals to address needs of the fishery that cannot be met under 11 existing regulations or statutes; or 12 (B) to allow the Department of Fish and Game or the Board of 13 Fisheries to open a commercial fishery that would otherwise remain closed to 14 protect a fishery resource from overexploitation resulting from unrestricted 15 access to the fishery. 16 * Sec. 3. AS 16.43.225(b) is repealed and reenacted to read: 17 (b) The commission may establish a moratorium in one or more fisheries or 18 for one or more fishery resources, gear types, or administrative areas within a fishery. 19 * Sec. 4. AS 16.43.225(c) is amended to read: 20 (c) The commission may establish a moratorium under this section for a 21 continuous period of up to four years. The commission may extend the period of a 22 moratorium for a continuous period of not more than two years if necessary to 23 achieve a purpose described under (a) of this section. A fishery that has been 24 subject to a moratorium under this section may not be subjected to a subsequent 25 moratorium under this section unless five years have elapsed since the previous 26 moratorium expired. 27 * Sec. 5. AS 16.43.225(d) is amended to read: 28 (d) While a moratorium is in effect, the commission shall study and evaluate 29 alternatives for management of entry into the fishery under this chapter 30 [CONDUCT INVESTIGATIONS TO DETERMINE WHETHER A MAXIMUM 31 NUMBER OF ENTRY PERMITS SHOULD BE ESTABLISHED UNDER
01 AS 16.43.240] by 02 (1) conducting research into conditions in the fishery; 03 (2) consulting with the Department of Fish and Game and the Board of 04 Fisheries; and 05 (3) consulting with participants in the fishery. 06 * Sec. 6. AS 16.43.225(e) is amended to read: 07 (e) The commission shall establish by regulation a qualification date and 08 eligibility criteria [THE QUALIFICATIONS] for applicants for an interim-use 09 permit, vessel permit, or both for a fishery subject to a moratorium under this section. 10 The eligibility criteria for an interim-use permit or vessel permit for a fishery 11 subject to a moratorium under this section [QUALIFICATIONS] must include the 12 minimum requirements for past or present participation and harvest in the fishery as of 13 the qualification date established by the commission. The commission shall issue 14 (1) an interim-use permit to a person who satisfies the eligibility 15 criteria established under this subsection; 16 (2) a vessel permit to a person or entity who, as of the qualification 17 date of application owns a vessel that satisfies the eligibility criteria established 18 under this subsection for a vessel permit for the fishery [THE COMMISSION 19 MAY NOT ISSUE AN INTERIM-USE PERMIT FOR A FISHERY SUBJECT TO A 20 MORATORIUM UNDER THIS SECTION UNLESS THE APPLICANT CAN 21 SATISFY THE QUALIFICATIONS ESTABLISHED UNDER THIS SUBSECTION 22 AND ESTABLISH THE PRESENT ABILITY AND INTENT TO PARTICIPATE 23 ACTIVELY IN THE FISHERY]. 24 * Sec. 7. AS 16.43.225 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 25 (f) If the commission establishes a moratorium under this section for a fishery 26 that involves more than one fishery resource, type of gear, or administrative area, the 27 commission may limit, as the commission determines appropriate, the species of 28 fishery resource that may be harvested, the types of gear that may be used, and the 29 areas where fishing may occur under an interim-use permit or a vessel permit issued 30 for the fishery. The commission shall adopt criteria, as appropriate, for determining 31 how
01 (1) restrictions on fishery resources, types of gear, and areas fished are 02 established for individual interim-use permits and vessel permits; and 03 (2) eligibility to take a particular fishery resource, to use a particular 04 type of gear, or to fish in a particular area is established. 05 (g) If the commission establishes a moratorium on entry of new vessels into a 06 fishery, the commission may regulate the fishing capacity that a vessel may employ 07 under the vessel permit issued for the vessel. The commission shall, as appropriate, 08 adopt criteria for determining how restrictions on vessel fishing capacity are 09 established for vessel permits. The criteria may be based on past participation in the 10 fishery. The commission may define fishing capacity in terms of quantity of fishing 11 gear, fishing vessel size, or other characteristics determined by the commission to 12 affect the fishing capacity of vessels employed in the fishery. 13 (h) A vessel permit issued under this section 14 (1) constitutes a use privilege that may be modified or revoked by law 15 without compensation; 16 (2) may not be 17 (A) transferred to another vessel, person, or entity, except as 18 provided under (j) of this section; 19 (B) pledged, mortgaged, leased, or encumbered in any way; 20 (C) attached, distrained, or sold on execution of judgment or 21 under any other process or order of any court; 22 (3) does not alter the requirement for an interim-use permit under 23 AS 16.43.140 or a vessel license under AS 16.05.490 - 16.05.520. 24 (i) The commission shall establish fees for the issuance and annual renewal of 25 vessel permits issued under this section. The annual fee for the vessel permit must 26 reasonably reflect the rate of economic return for the fishery and may not exceed 27 $1,000. 28 (j) The commission may, in the regulations establishing a moratorium under 29 this section, provide for 30 (1) the substitution of another vessel for the vessel that is identified on 31 a vessel permit if the vessel for which the vessel permit was originally issued is sunk,
01 destroyed, or damaged to the extent that the vessel is unable to operate in the fishery 02 for which the permit is issued; 03 (2) a vessel permit to be reissued to the new owner of a vessel that is 04 identified on the vessel permit if the ownership of the vessel changes during the 05 moratorium; 06 (3) the substitution of a shorter vessel for the vessel identified on a 07 vessel permit if 08 (A) the Board of Fisheries has adopted a vessel size restriction 09 that prohibits the use of the vessel identified on the vessel permit in the fishery 10 for which the vessel permit was issued; 11 (B) the substitute vessel complies with the vessel size 12 restrictions adopted by the Board of Fisheries for the fishery for which the 13 vessel permit was issued; and 14 (C) the substitute vessel is owned by the person or entity that 15 owned the vessel identified on the vessel permit. 16 (k) Unless otherwise provided by law or by a regulation adopted by the 17 commission, the commission may not consider participation in a fishery by a person or 18 vessel that occurs during the period of the moratorium in determining eligibility for 19 fishing privileges under a subsequent limitation on entry or participation in the fishery. 20 (l) Unless the application of a provision of this chapter to an interim-use 21 permit issued under this section conflicts with this section or the purpose of this 22 section, an interim-use permit issued under this section is subject to all provisions of 23 this chapter governing interim-use permits. 24 (m) Nothing in this section limits the powers of the Board of Fisheries or the 25 Department of Fish and Game. 26 (n) Notwithstanding AS 16.05.815 and AS 16.43.975, the commission may 27 release to the owner of a vessel information on a vessel's history of harvests in a 28 fishery that is necessary to apply for a vessel permit for the vessel under this section. 29 * Sec. 8. AS 16.43.260(f) is amended to read: 30 (f) When the commission establishes the maximum number of entry permits 31 under AS 16.43.240 for a fishery that is subject to a moratorium under AS 16.43.225,
01 the commission shall establish a qualification date to be used to determine the 02 priority classification among applicants. Each [AN] applicant for an entry permit 03 for the fishery shall be assigned to a priority classification based [SOLELY] upon the 04 applicant's qualifications as of the qualification [EFFECTIVE] date established 05 under this subsection [OF THE STATUTE OR REGULATION ESTABLISHING 06 THE MORATORIUM]. 07 * Sec. 9. AS 16.43 is amended by adding a new section to read: 08 Sec. 16.43.908. Vessel permits for Gulf of Alaska groundfish fisheries. (a) 09 The commission shall issue annual vessel permits under this section for commercial 10 fishing vessels used on or after January 1, 2005, in the state Gulf of Alaska groundfish 11 fisheries. The commission shall issue vessel permits to a vessel upon application by 12 the vessel owner. The commission shall issue a separate vessel permit for each 13 fishery. The Gulf of Alaska groundfish fisheries are 14 (1) Prince William Sound groundfish non-pelagic trawl fishery; 15 (2) Prince William Sound groundfish pelagic trawl fishery; 16 (3) Prince William Sound groundfish longline fishery; 17 (4) Prince William Sound groundfish pot fishery; 18 (5) Cook Inlet groundfish non-pelagic trawl fishery; 19 (6) Cook Inlet groundfish pelagic trawl fishery; 20 (7) Cook Inlet groundfish longline fishery; 21 (8) Cook Inlet groundfish pot fishery; 22 (9) Kodiak groundfish non-pelagic trawl fishery; 23 (10) Kodiak groundfish pelagic trawl fishery; 24 (11) Kodiak groundfish longline fishery; 25 (12) Kodiak groundfish pot fishery; 26 (13) Chignik groundfish non-pelagic trawl fishery; 27 (14) Chignik groundfish pelagic trawl fishery; 28 (15) Chignik groundfish longline fishery; 29 (16) Chignik groundfish pot fishery; 30 (17) South Alaska Peninsula groundfish non-pelagic trawl fishery; 31 (18) South Alaska Peninsula groundfish pelagic trawl fishery;
01 (19) South Alaska Peninsula groundfish longline fishery; 02 (20) South Alaska Peninsula groundfish pot fishery. 03 (b) A vessel permit is a use privilege authorizing the vessel to engage in a 04 specific groundfish fishery if that fishery is authorized by the Board of Fisheries. A 05 vessel permit must describe the fishery resource, the type of gear, and the area for 06 which the vessel permit is issued. The use privilege conveyed by a vessel permit may 07 be modified or revoked by the legislature without compensation. 08 (c) Except as provided in (m) of this section, on or after January 1, 2005, a 09 commercial fishing vessel may not use pelagic trawl, non-pelagic trawl, longline, or 10 pot gear, as defined by the Board of Fisheries, to take groundfish in a state Gulf of 11 Alaska groundfish fishery unless a vessel permit for that fishery has been issued for 12 the vessel under this section. This subsection does not prohibit the use of a 13 commercial fishing vessel to take groundfish using gear other than pelagic trawl, non- 14 pelagic trawl, longline, or pot gear, if the taking and retention of the groundfish is 15 permitted under regulations adopted by the Board of Fisheries. 16 (d) Notwithstanding AS 16.43.225, the commission may not issue a vessel 17 permit under this section to a commercial fishing vessel for a Gulf of Alaska 18 groundfish fishery for the period January 1, 2005, through December 31, 2008, 19 inclusive, unless the vessel has, on or after January 1, 1998, and before the effective 20 date of this Act, made a documented landing of groundfish in the area using the type 21 of gear for which the permit is to be issued. The commission may by regulation 22 extend the moratorium on entry of new vessels into the Gulf of Alaska groundfish 23 fisheries established under this subsection for a maximum period of two years until 24 January 1, 2011, if the commission finds that the extension of the moratorium is 25 necessary to achieve the purposes of the moratorium. 26 (e) Participation of a person or a vessel in a Gulf of Alaska groundfish fishery 27 during the moratorium established under (d) of this section may not be used to 28 establish eligibility for a use privilege for a groundfish fishery that may be issued after 29 the termination of the moratorium authorized under this section. 30 (f) Subsections (d) - (e) of this section may be superseded by regulations 31 adopted by the commission under subsequent legislation enacted by the legislature
01 authorizing the regulations. 02 (g) If, during the moratorium established under (d) of this section, a 03 commercial fishing vessel that qualifies for a vessel permit under this section or that is 04 issued a vessel permit under this section is sunk, destroyed, or damaged, to the extent 05 that the vessel is inoperable for a state Gulf of Alaska groundfish fishery, the 06 commission may, upon the request of the owner of the vessel, reissue the vessel permit 07 to another commercial fishing vessel with an overall length that does not exceed the 08 overall length of the vessel that was sunk, destroyed, or damaged by more than ten 09 percent. 10 (h) During the moratorium established under (d) of this section, the 11 commission shall, upon request of the new owner of a vessel and submission of proof 12 of ownership, reissue a vessel permit to the new owner of a vessel if the ownership of 13 the vessel identified on the vessel permit is transferred. 14 (i) During the moratorium established under (d) of this section, a vessel permit 15 may be transferred to a shorter vessel that is substituted for the vessel identified on a 16 vessel permit if 17 (A) the Board of Fisheries has adopted a vessel size restriction 18 that prohibits the use of the vessel identified on the vessel permit in the fishery 19 for which the vessel permit was issued; 20 (B) the substitute vessel complies with the vessel size 21 restrictions adopted by the Board of Fisheries for the fishery for which the 22 vessel permit was issued; and 23 (C) the substitute vessel is owned by the person or entity that 24 owned the vessel identified on the vessel permit. 25 (j) A vessel permit is valid for the calendar year that is inscribed on the vessel 26 permit. The annual fee for a vessel permit is 27 (1) $500 for each pelagic trawl fishery or non-pelagic trawl fishery; 28 (2) $250 for each pot fishery or longline fishery; 29 (k) During the moratorium established under (d) of this section, the 30 commission shall, in cooperation with the Department of Fish and Game and the 31 Board of Fisheries, conduct investigations to determine appropriate alternatives for
01 management of entry into Gulf of Alaska groundfish fisheries in the state. The 02 commission shall submit proposals to the legislature for legislation or constitutional 03 amendments necessary to implement the recommendations of the commission. 04 (l) The commission may adopt regulations that the commission considers 05 necessary to implement this section. 06 (m) Notwithstanding other provisions of this section, a vessel permit issued 07 under this section is not required of a vessel while that vessel is participating in the 08 Prince William Sound sablefish fishery or a halibut fishery managed under a federal 09 individual fishery quota system. 10 (n) In this section, 11 (1) "Chignik" means the marine water of the Chignik groundfish 12 fishery registration area, as defined by the Board of Fisheries; 13 (2) "Cook Inlet" means the marine water of the Cook Inlet groundfish 14 fishery registration area, as defined by the Board of Fisheries; 15 (3) "groundfish" means a species of marine finfish other than halibut, 16 osmerids, herring, or salmonids; 17 (4) "Gulf of Alaska" means the marine water of the state adjacent to 18 the Gulf of Alaska that is west of the latitude of Cape Suckling to the westward extent 19 of state water of the Aleutian Islands; 20 (5) "Gulf of Alaska groundfish fishery" means a fishery in which 21 groundfish are taken in a specified administrative or registration area in the Gulf of 22 Alaska using a specified type of fishing gear that is either pelagic trawl, non-pelagic 23 trawl, pot, or longline gear; 24 (6) "Kodiak" means the marine water of the Kodiak groundfish fishery 25 registration area, as defined by the Board of Fisheries; 26 (7) "landing" means the act of offloading for sale, or for transport to a 27 buyer for later sale, or catching and processing of groundfish taken in a halibut or 28 groundfish fishery in state water for sale as evidenced by a Department of Fish and 29 Game fish ticket; 30 (8) "Prince William Sound" means the marine water of the Prince 31 William Sound groundfish fishery registration area, as defined by the Board of
01 Fisheries; 02 (9) "South Alaska Peninsula" means the marine water of the South 03 Alaska Peninsula groundfish fishery registration area, as defined by the Board of 04 Fisheries. 05 * Sec. 10. AS 16.43.911(c) is amended to read: 06 (c) Notwithstanding AS 16.05.815 and AS 16.43.975, the commission may 07 release to the owner of a vessel information on the vessel's history of harvests in a 08 fishery that is necessary to apply for a vessel permit under AS 16.43.901 - 16.43.908 09 [AS 16.43.901 - 16.43.906]. 10 * Sec. 11. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska enacted in sec. 6, ch. 97, SLA 1997, as 11 amended by sec. 6, ch. 30, SLA 2000, is amended to read: 12 Sec. 6. AS 16.43.906, added by sec. 3 of this Act, is [AND AS 16.43.911 13 ARE] repealed July 1, 2004. 14 * Sec. 12. AS 16.05.050(a)(19), 16.05.251(g), AS 16.43.227, and 16.43.228 are repealed. 15 * Sec. 13. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 16 read: 17 CONTINGENT RETROSPECTIVITY. If this Act does not take effect before July 1, 18 2004, secs. 10 - 11 of this Act are retrospective to June 30, 2004. 19 * Sec. 14. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).