00                            SENATE BILL NO. 237                                                                         
01 "An Act relating to the policy for management of sustainable salmon fisheries."                                         
02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
03    * Section 1.  AS 16.05 is amended by adding a new section to read:                                                 
04            Sec. 16.05.247. Management of sustainable salmon fisheries. (a) The Board                                  
05       of Fisheries and Department of Fish and Game shall adopt regulations recognizing that                             
06                 (1)  while, in the aggregate, Alaska's salmon fisheries are healthy and                                 
07       sustainable largely because of abundant pristine habitat and the application of sound,                            
08       precautionary, conservation management practices, there is a need for a                                           
09       comprehensive policy for the regulation and management of sustainable salmon                                      
10       fisheries; and                                                                                                    
11                 (2)  in formulating fishery management plans designed to achieve                                        
12       maximum or optimum salmon production, the board and the department must consider                                  
13       factors including environmental change, habitat loss or degradation, data uncertainty,                            
14       limited funding for research and management programs, existing harvest patterns, and                              
15       new or expanding fisheries.                                                                                       

01            (b)  Regulations adopted under this section must ensure conservation of salmon                               
02       and salmon's required marine and aquatic habitats, protection of customary and                                    
03       traditional subsistence uses and other uses, and the sustained economic health of                                 
04       Alaska.                                                                                                           
05            (c)  Management of salmon fisheries by the state shall be based on the                                       
06       following principles and criteria:                                                                                
07                 (1)  wild salmon stocks and the salmon habitats shall be maintained at                                  
08       levels of resource productivity that ensure sustained yields;                                                     
09                 (2)  salmon fisheries shall be managed to allow escapement within                                       
10       ranges necessary to conserve and sustain wild salmon production and maintain normal                               
11       ecosystem functioning;                                                                                            
12                 (3)  diversity shall be maintained to the maximum extent possible at the                                
13       genetic, population, species, and ecosystem levels;                                                               
14                 (4)  depleted salmon stocks shall be allowed to recover or, where                                       
15       appropriate, be actively restored;                                                                                
16                 (5)  in the face of uncertainty, salmon stocks, fisheries, artificial                                   
17       propagation, and essential habitats shall be managed conservatively based on a                                    
18       precautionary approach that gives priority to conserving the reproductive potential of                            
19       the salmon resource.                                                                                              
20            (d)  The principles and criteria for sustainable salmon fisheries shall be applied                           
21       by the board and the department using the best available information, as follows:                                 
22                 (1)  effective management systems shall be established and applied to                                   
23       regulate human activities that affect salmon;                                                                     
24                 (2)  management plans for each fishery must contain goals and                                           
25       measurable objectives that are derived from the principles and criteria under this                                
26       section and are reviewed on a regular basis;                                                                      
27                 (3)  action plans shall be developed for stocks of concern, identified                                  
28       based on the failure of the stocks to consistently meet prescribed escapement goals and                           
29       objectives, and must contain                                                                                      
30                      (A)  measurable and implementable rebuilding goals and                                             
31            objectives;                                                                                                  

01                      (B)  fishery management and habitat restoration and protection                                     
02            measures required to restore the stock of concern; and                                                       
03                      (C)  a schedule of performance measures appropriate for                                            
04            monitoring and gauging the effectiveness of the action plan;                                                 
05                 (4)  public support and involvement for sustained use and protection of                                 
06       salmon resources shall be sought and encouraged in an open process.                                               
07            (e)  Nothing in the policy set out in this section is intended to expand, reduce,                            
08       or be inconsistent with the statutory regulatory authority of the board, the department,                          
09       or other state agencies with regulatory authority that affects the fishery resources of                           
10       the state.