02/16/2010 10:15 AM House FISHERIES

        HJR 43-FED. FUNDING: DOMESTIC SEAFOOD MARKETING                                                                     
                                                                                                                              
10:25:30 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR EDGMON announced that the  first order of business would be                                                               
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION  NO. 43, Urging the  federal government to                                                               
provide funding  for domestic  seafood marketing  and promotional                                                               
activities.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
10:26:13 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
TIM  CLARK,  Staff,  Representative Bryce  Edgmon,  Alaska  State                                                               
Legislature,  presented  HJR  43,  a resolve  to  promote  Alaska                                                               
harvested  seafood,  paraphrasing  from  the  sponsor  statement,                                                               
which read [original punctuation provided]:                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     HJR 43  communicates to  the Obama  Administration, the                                                                    
     Alaska  Congressional  Delegation,   and  Congress  the                                                                    
     Legislature's support  for using  a portion  of federal                                                                    
     revenues generated from duties  on imported seafood and                                                                    
     fish products for  marketing American seafood-including                                                                    
     that harvested in Alaska.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
     Since the  1990s, well over  fifty percent of  the fish                                                                    
     consumed annually  by American families is  the product                                                                    
     of foreign  countries.  And every  year the governments                                                                    
     of  many  of  these countries  bankroll  multi-million-                                                                    
     dollar campaigns to market their seafood to Americans.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     While the Alaska seafood industry  as well as the state                                                                    
     of Alaska contribute millions  in funding for marketing                                                                    
     purposes, the  amounts are not adequate  to finance the                                                                    
     vigorous,  consistent,  and innovative  promotion  that                                                                    
     our   products  require   in   the   face  of   foreign                                                                    
     competition.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
     Meanwhile, each  year hundreds  of millions  of dollars                                                                    
     are  derived from  duties on  these  imported fish  and                                                                    
     fish  products   that  so  aggressively   compete  with                                                                    
     American seafood.   Yet only an  insignificant fraction                                                                    
     of  this  revenue has  ever  been  employed to  promote                                                                    
     domestically produced seafood.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
     HJR 43 endorses putting a  portion of these revenues to                                                                    
     work in developing and  maintaining the robust domestic                                                                    
     markets  that  healthy,   sustainable  Alaskan  seafood                                                                    
     deserves.    The  resolution  urges  Congress  to  pass                                                                    
     legislation dedicating  such funding for  the effective                                                                    
     domestic marketing  of American  seafood.  And  it asks                                                                    
     the  Alaska Delegation  in  Congress  to work  together                                                                    
     with  representatives  from   other  seafood  producing                                                                    
     states to accomplish these goals                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
10:29:31 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
JULIE DECKER,  Representative, United Fisherman of  Alaska (UFA),                                                               
National Seafood Marketing Coalition,  stated support for HJR 43,                                                               
and said  that United Fishermen  of Alaska (UFA), and  the Alaska                                                               
Seafood Marketing  Institute (ASMI),  have identified  a spectrum                                                               
of  areas that  the  derived duties  could  be directed  towards:                                                               
marketing  of seafood  products; funding  for regions  to improve                                                               
product value; economic  growth and job creation.   UFA has begun                                                               
the  process of  building a  coalition  to present  the need  for                                                               
these funds to Congress.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
10:32:14 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
BRUCE WALLACE, Representative, United  Fishermen of Alaska (UFA),                                                               
National  Seafood  Marketing   Coalition,  Board  Member,  Alaska                                                               
Seafood Marketing  Institute (ASMI),  stated support for  HJR 43,                                                               
and  said  the  aggregation  of  marine  states  will  produce  a                                                               
decision  on how  to take  the steps  to create  the relationship                                                               
that  is called  for.   He stressed  the important  position that                                                               
Alaska holds,  as a standard  for state government  working hand-                                                               
in-hand with the fishing industry.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
10:34:01 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE MUNOZ asked  if there are other  boards similar to                                                               
ASMI, elsewhere in the nation.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MR.  WALLACE  answered  no,  and reported  that  six  states  are                                                               
building legislation, and ASMI is the model being cited.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
10:34:55 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR EDGMON asked for an  elaboration on regional organizations,                                                               
and what type of funding could be expected.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MS. DECKER  responded that  the concept being  put forward  is to                                                               
create  nine  regional boards  across  the  nation.   Funding  is                                                               
targeted  at  $100  million,  with  half  coming  from  the  U.S.                                                               
Department  of Agriculture  (USDA) duties  on imported  fish, and                                                               
fish    products,   and    the   remainder    from   anti-dumping                                                               
countervailing duties.   To  a follow up  question, she  said the                                                               
idea has been  well received in the lower states  and it was seen                                                               
as a  bright star on  the horizon  for many of  the organizations                                                               
involved.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MR. WALLACE interjected that the  expectation is to bring federal                                                               
money into regions  and allow spending discretion  at that level.                                                               
General spending rules will not  be applied across the board, but                                                               
the structure used will be standardized.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
10:38:05 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR EDGMON  opened public testimony,  and hearing  none, closed                                                               
public testimony.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
10:39:09 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE MUNOZ moved to report  HJR 43, 26-LS1432\R, out of                                                               
committee  with individual  recommendations and  the accompanying                                                               
fiscal notes.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
There  being no  objection, HJR  43 was  reported from  the House                                                               
Special Committee on Fisheries.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
The committee took an at-ease from 10:39 a.m. to 10.42 a.m.