00                CS FOR SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 22(RES)                                                              
01 Opposing litigation that seeks to eliminate the Kenai, Kasilof, and Chitina sockeye                                     
02 salmon personal use dip net fisheries.                                                                                  
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04       WHEREAS the United Cook Inlet Drift Association is a group of nonresident and                                   
05 resident commercial gill net fishermen in Cook Inlet; and                                                               
06       WHEREAS the United Cook Inlet Drift Association has filed a lawsuit against the                                 
07 United States Secretary of Commerce requesting that the United States Department of                                     
08 Commerce preempt state management of its salmon stocks in Cook Inlet; and                                               
09       WHEREAS the United Cook Inlet Drift Association has filed a lawsuit against the                                 
10 United States Secretary of Commerce claiming, among other things, that association's                                    
11 nonresident members are discriminated against because they cannot participate in the                                    
12 resident-only dip net fishery, thus requesting the court to declare that the state-authorized                           
13 resident-only salmon fisheries are unconstitutional and therefore preempted by federal law;                             
14 and                                                                                                                     
15       WHEREAS Herbert T. Jensen has filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court                               
16 for the District of Alaska based on claims similar to those stated by the United Cook Inlet                             

01 Drift Association; and                                                                                                  
02       WHEREAS all five species of Pacific salmon are an integral part of Alaska's history,                            
03 heritage, and cultural identity, helping to meet both its economic and nutritional needs; and                           
04       WHEREAS the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act                                            
05 explicitly excludes state waters from the jurisdiction of the Act; and                                                  
06       WHEREAS the exclusive economic zone is closed to commercial fishing under the                                   
07 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act unless specifically authorized                                 
08 by the state; and                                                                                                       
09       WHEREAS the Alaska Board of Fisheries has devoted an inordinate amount of time                                  
10 to the extremely complex salmon management program in the Cook Inlet region in an attempt                               
11 to balance the interests of all stakeholders; and                                                                       
12       WHEREAS the potential results of those lawsuits, if the plaintiffs are successful,                              
13 would not only preempt state fisheries management but could result in a larger number of                                
14 nonresident dip net fishermen being allowed to fish, causing an even smaller allocation to the                          
15 commercial fisheries, thus conceivably further adversely affecting the members of the United                            
16 Cook Inlet Drift Association; and                                                                                       
17       WHEREAS the establishment of federal and state recognized commercial fisheries                                  
18 limited entry programs have drastically limited the ability of residents to use efficient                               
19 commercial gear for taking subsistence and personal use salmon resources, which has resulted                            
20 in the establishment of less efficient methods, such as the dip net fisheries, for taking salmon                        
21 to meet Alaska's nutritional needs; and                                                                                 
22       WHEREAS members of the United Cook Inlet Drift Association are able to use their                                
23 exclusive limited entry permits to use efficient gear that is not available to the average                              
24 Alaskan for the purpose of taking salmon for personal use; and                                                          
25       WHEREAS members of the United Cook Inlet Drift Association, including all                                       
26 nonresidents, are allowed an unlimited bag limit, an unlimited possession limit, and an                                 
27 unlimited annual limit under state law for salmon retained for personal use if taken during the                         
28 commercial fisheries, which is a luxury not afforded to Alaskans who do not possess a state                             
29 limited entry permit; and                                                                                               
30       WHEREAS both the federal government and the state recognize in law and place a                                  
31 high priority on the importance of taking of wild resources for food; and                                               

01       WHEREAS the State of Alaska restricts dip net salmon fisheries to Alaska residents;                             
02 and                                                                                                                     
03       WHEREAS, in 1984, a resident-only dip net fishery for Copper River red salmon                                   
04 stocks was established in Chitina; and                                                                                  
05       WHEREAS, in 2006, 2007, and 2008, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game                                        
06 issued over 8,000 permits allowing Alaskans to dip net for salmon in Chitina; and                                       
07       WHEREAS, in 1981, a dip net fishery for red salmon stocks was established at the                                
08 mouth of the Kenai and Kasilof Rivers; and                                                                              
09       WHEREAS, in 2006, 2007, and 2008, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game                                        
10 issued between 18,500 and 23,700 permits allowing Alaskans to dip net for salmon in the                                 
11 Kenai and Kasilof Rivers; and                                                                                           
12       WHEREAS the Alaska Department of Fish and Game calculates that those dip net                                    
13 fisheries provide an average of 14 fish for each household for those households that                                    
14 participated in the Kenai and Kasilof Rivers dip net fisheries in 2006, 2007, 2008; and                                 
15       WHEREAS there appears to be a growing groundswell of support within the                                         
16 commercial fishing industries represented at the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council                             
17 and state Board of Fisheries levels for a more dominant role in the regulatory process; and                             
18       WHEREAS the Constitution of the State of Alaska dictates that "The legislature shall                            
19 provide for the utilization, development, and conservation of all natural resources belonging                           
20 to the State, including land and waters, for the maximum benefit of its people," which clearly                          
21 means that the state's common property resources must benefit all Alaskans and not just a few                           
22 commercial fisherman;                                                                                                   
23       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature hereby requests that the United                                
24 Cook Inlet Drift Association and Herbert T. Jensen each drop their lawsuits advocating                                  
25 federal preemption of Alaska's salmon management in state waters in Cook Inlet and                                      
26 opposing the personal use of salmon by Alaska residents.                                                                
27       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature also requests Governor                                       
28 Sarah Palin to direct the attorney general to oppose those lawsuits.                                                    
29       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Gary F. Locke, United                                  
30 States Secretary of Commerce; the Honorable Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska; the                                        
31 Honorable Wayne Anthony Ross, Alaska Attorney General; and the Honorable Denby Lloyd,                                   

01 Commissioner, Department of Fish and Game.