Legislature(2007 - 2008)CAPITOL 124
02/02/2007 08:30 AM House FISHERIES
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Overview: Ocean Beauty Seafoods, Incorporated, Products and Marketing | |
| Overview: Department of Labor & Workforce Development – Fisherman's Fund | |
| HB26 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| *+ | HB 26 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
HB 26-GEODUCK AQUATIC FARMING EXEMPTION 9:40:28 AM CHAIR SEATON announced that the final order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 26, "An Act relating to aquatic farm permitting involving geoducks and to geoduck seed transfers between certified hatcheries and aquatic farms." 9:40:54 AM CHAIR SEATON passed the gavel to Representative Johansen. 9:41:22 AM REPRESENTATIVE SEATON, speaking as the prime sponsor of HB 26, explained that HB 26 says that an aquatic farm permit or transfer permit can't be denied merely because geoducks aren't in the area or aren't wild in the area a farm or transfer permit is requested. Representative Seaton informed the committee that no one has approached him requesting such legislation nor has he ever applied for a mariculture permit and doesn't intend to do so. He further informed the committee of his various educational degrees and 30 years as a commercial fisherman. Representative Seaton opined that he knows what is happening in the state's fisheries and the volatility of the industry, and therefore as a representative of the state he is looking at alternative economic opportunities for the state's coastal communities. Mariculture, if it can be done well, seems to be a logical choice for [coastal areas in Alaska]. Representative Seaton noted that he fought salmon farming in Alaska because it has many negatives, such as genetic problems and escapees. However, geoduck clams are a unique animal and in fact, once geoducks are out of the larval stage they sit in one spot [and aren't located] in high energy beach areas. Furthermore, there are no known infectious diseases with geoducks, which have been intensively studied in Puget Sound. Geoduck farming is taking place in Washington and British Columbia, he related. 9:47:17 AM REPRESENTATIVE SEATON, in response to Representative LeDoux, explained that a high energy beach is a beach that would have a fairly large amount of wave action or strong tidal currents that move the sediment. The geoduck, he further explained, doesn't dig down out of the way as a razor clam would. Geoducks aren't mobile and sit in one spot for their entire life. 9:48:05 AM REPRESENTATIVE WILSON asked whether geoducks could be seeded and thrive in areas that have never had this species. REPRESENTATIVE SEATON informed the committee that in Seward, the location of the single mariculture hatchery, geoducks are placed in the water without heating it. The geoducks seem to do fine. In fact, the temperature is raised to encourage the geoducks to spawn. There is no knowledge as to whether geoducks would ever spawn in the wild in areas such as Kodiak. He reminded the committee that geoducks are filter feeders and won't require any food. Furthermore, nothing has been identified as a competitor of geoducks. Thus far, he said he has only heard that geoducks might displace some polykete worms. However, Puget Sound studies have shown that after harvesting the geoducks there was a slightly higher number of polykete worms. Representative Seaton related that in Puget Sound geoducks are intertidal, which wouldn't occur in Alaska because of Alaska's winters. Geoducks in Alaska would be located in 20-30 feet of water and a jet hose is utilized to loosen the substrate and harvest the geoduck. With regard to the issue of contamination, he said, "We don't have to worry about that, we're already taking the geoducks here from Southeastern up there; there are no geoducks up there and so we don't have to worry about contamination between wild stock and the other." REPRESENTATIVE SEATON then addressed the geoduck controversies, which revolved around having a wild stock that commercial fishermen gathered versus farmers who wanted to farm in the same area. The farming was desired in those areas because there would be standing stock that could support the farm. The other dispute was if [a farmer] takes the area where geoducks are growing, that area is taken from the commercial harvester. The aforementioned isn't a problem if the geoduck farming takes place in Kodiak, Sand Point, or the outer Kenai Peninsula. He highlighted that the state has established the Seward mariculture hatchery and its business plan calls for supplying stock. However, oysters, which are cheap, can be imported and thus it won't support the hatchery operations. Therefore, the business plan relies on geoducks, for which the first purchase has materialized. Representative Seaton opined that [the legislature] needs to determine whether to subsidize the hatchery forever, provide a diversity of buyers or abandon the industry. He further opined that HB 26 provides a good alternative. However, the current policy prohibits the farming of geoducks outside Southeast Alaska because that's the only wild location of geoducks. 9:55:04 AM REPRESENTATIVE WILSON recalled that those interested in geoduck farming in Southeast had to wait for the department to identify sites available for farming. However, one individual who isn't an Alaskan applied for a number of the sites. Therefore, she asked if the sponsor would be amenable to limiting the number of farming sites he/she could lease at one time. REPRESENTATIVE SEATON characterized those as regulatory issues with which he didn't have a problem. He related his presumption that local people would apply for the farms because one would need to be in the area to work the farms. Therefore, he suggested that there could be a point system for having a work force. He pointed out that the permit requires identification of the workforce. The aforementioned may prove difficult for someone from New York applying for a geoduck farm. Representative Seaton said that he didn't have a problem with some such mechanism, but he pointed out that it isn't necessary in HB 26. 9:58:09 AM REPRESENTATIVE SEATON, in response to Representative Wilson, related his understanding that without a jet wand to loosen the substrate, it would be difficult to harvest the geoducks. He noted that marine mammals will eat geoducks. He also commented that geoducks must lead a fairly good life as some live to be up to 140-168 years. 9:59:14 AM REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX asked if the geoduck farms are similar to set net sites in which the permit holder must be on the site, or can a permit holder hire others to run the site. REPRESENTATIVE SEATON related his understanding that geoduck [permit holders], unlike commercial fishing permit [holders], don't have to be present to operate a site. He suggested that the committee receive clarification from the department. 10:01:03 AM REPRESENTATIVE HOLMES recalled the sponsor saying that under current law, geoducks cannot be farmed in areas where they aren't currently found in the wild. REPRESENTATIVE SEATON explained that statute specifies that "aquatic farming sites for on bottom culture of shellfish must be located in areas where ... an indigenous population of shellfish species to be cultivated is not present ...." The second portion of the statute goes on to refer to those areas where there are indigenous shellfish, wild stock. The regulations that have been adopted are a policy call saying there is no desire to have any shellfish where they aren't naturally present within the larval drift zone. 10:03:21 AM REPRESENTATIVE SEATON, in response to Representative Holmes, confirmed that the committee packet should include the policies and procedures. He expressed the need for members to read the policies and procedures carefully because it says that the policy is present to prevent genetic contamination or interaction with wild stocks. Therefore, the rationale for the policy decision doesn't follow the reality of the sites. 10:04:14 AM REPRESENTATIVE JOHANSEN announced that HB 26 would be held over.
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