Legislature(2009 - 2010)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/09/2010 03:30 PM Senate COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HJR46 | |
| SJR29 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | HJR 46 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SJR 29 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
SJR 29-TRIBAL SEATS ON N. PAC. FISHERIES COUNCIL
3:48:36 PM
CHAIR OLSON announced the next order of business to come before
the committee was SJR 29, a committee bill, with no fiscal note.
TIM BENINTENDI, staff to Senator Olson, read from the following
statement:
SJR 29 would ask Alaska's Congressional delegation to
open the Magnuson-Stevens Act to amendment, for the
purpose of expanding the number of voting seats on the
North Pacific Fisheries Management Council [(NPFMC)].
This resolution seeks four new voting seats to be
filled with appointees who are members of federally-
recognized tribes in Alaska, and/or Alaska Native
Organizations (ANO's). These new seats would be filled
by individuals who are not employed by a community
development quota program [(CDQ's)], or the pollock
industry.
Many in the Alaska Native fishing constituency in
Western and Northwestern Alaska, and those in
supportive resource development groups, feel their
voices and their concerns are not being heard on the
NPFMC. They feel four new voting seats will
accommodate that voice.
Troubles in the Arctic Yukon-Kuskokwim (AYK)
fisheries, notably the loss of king salmon on the
Lower Yukon River, and unresolved by-catch issues in
the Bering Sea, have forced this constituency to raise
its profile in a forum where it is felt that remedial
action can be achieved. Four new voting seats on the
NPFMC will address their concerns.
SJR 29 is supported by the Norton Sound Economic
Development Council, and Kawarek, Inc.
3:50:56 PM
SENATOR FRENCH asked how many members are on the NPFMC.
MR. BENITENDI answered either 11 or 13 members.
SENATOR FRENCH asked how people get appointed to the council.
MR. BENITENDI replied that the governor appoints four seats and
the commissioner of Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G)
holds a seat.
SENATOR FRENCH asked who appoints the other seats.
MR. BENITENDI replied the Secretary of Commerce does.
SENATOR FRENCH clarified that a federal official and our
governor appoint to the council.
MR. BENITENDI replied yes.
SENATOR MENARD asked if this legislation has been attempted in
the past out of concern that not enough Native people are on the
fishery boards.
MR. BENITENDI replied that he does not know of an attempt just
like SJR 29. He said last year a committee dealing with native
issues was appointed but the constituency wants full membership
on the NPFMC itself.
SENATOR MENARD clarified that under SJR 29 the NPFMC would have
15 members, four of which would have to be from the Native
community.
MR. BENITENDI responded yes, that would be the case.
SENATOR THOMAS asked if all members of NPFMC are from Alaska.
3:53:27 PM
MR. BENITENDI replied no, some are federal officials and some
are from Washington, Oregon and California.
SENATOR THOMAS asked about the wording on page 2, lines 22-23:
"be filled by appointment of members of federally recognized
tribes or Alaska Native organizations". He asked if that wording
specified only Alaskan federally recognized tribes and ANO's or
if further membership from Washington, Oregon and California
would be allowed.
MR. BENITENDI replied that the wording should say "federally
recognized tribes in Alaska" because SJR 29 is intended to be an
Alaska specific resolution.
SENATOR KOOKESH asked who would appoint the four new members.
MR. BENITENDI replied that he does not know but thinks the
governor would appoint the four members.
SENATOR KOOKESH said he thinks the federal Department of
Commerce would make the appointments because they are federally
recognized tribes. He asked if any American Indian
representatives from the Lower 48 are currently on the NPFMC.
MR. BENITENDI replied that he does not know.
3:56:07 PM
CHAIR OLSON said he wanted the record to reflect a special guest
in the room: Vic Fisher, one of the constitutional
conventioneers.
CHAIR OLSON asked if there is any opposition to SJR 29.
MR. BENITENDI replied that he has not heard of any opposition
though he suspects it exists.
CHAIR OLSON asked what the current members of the NPFMC think of
SJR 29.
MR. BENITENDI said he does not know but suspects the NPFMC would
not want to raise the member number. Senators Murkowski and
Begich discussed SJR 29 with the constituents who raised it and
were concerned that reopening the Magnuson-Stevens Act would
invite opportunities to make other changes. SJR 29 petitions
Alaska's delegation to change their minds and open the Magnuson-
Stevens Act to amendment to the NPFMC.
3:58:09 PM
GEORGE PUTLICOF, representing Green Peace and a resident of
Palmer, said the NPFMC has 11 voting members and 4 non-voting
members representing Alaska, Washington and Oregon. A different
council represents California under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. He
said 3 members of the 11 voting members of the council are from
the fishing industry - processors, catcher-processors or fishing
companies. Three other members are consultants who do not list
their clients but are likely fishing consultants. Therefore, 6
of the 11 voting members represent commercial fishing interests.
4:01:59 PM
The NPFMC helps set the quotas for halibut and king salmon by-
catch in Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea. Last winter the NPFMC
set the king salmon by-catch quota for the pollock industry up
to 60,000. The pollock industry had a by-catch several years ago
of almost 700,000 salmon. These salmon are usually discarded or
in some cases given to non-profits or food banks.
The NPFMC has an advisory panel made up of 20 individuals.
Eleven of these individuals are from a fishing interest. Finding
anyone on the advisory panel who represents environmental
issues, conservation concerns or the people of Western Alaska is
difficult. People from Western Alaska are often allowed only
three minutes to testify on an issue after waiting for four or
six days.
4:05:11 PM
The NPFMC focuses primarily on the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering
Sea and will potentially focus on Chukchi and the Arctic Sea in
the near future. The people most impacted by NPFMC's decisions
have no representation. Trying to provide for families through
subsistence hunting and gathering is becoming more difficult and
expensive. He said he himself, and Green Peace, support SJR 29
as a way to resolve the discrepancy between the industry and the
people impacted by the decisions that the NPFMC makes.
DAVID OTNESS, representing himself, Cordova, said he has lived
and worked throughout the state mainly in commercial fishing and
is now engaged in the merchant mariner's trade. He said he was
on the former governor's ADF&G transition team. Last year, the
ADF&G advocated to increase the king salmon by-catch by 8,000
over what was allowed by NPFMC. This action, on a stressed
fishery, would automatically exclude upriver native villages
from their traditional foods.
4:09:58 PM
The people from these villages are underrepresented, have no
economic horsepower and are excluded from CDQ's. Economic
interests are stacked against people trying to carry on their
traditional way of life. Factory trollers have taken over and
promote their interest to the exclusion of the people upriver.
SJR 29 gives people from fishing villages a voice.
CHAIR OLSON asked if Mr. Otness is a member of a federally
recognized tribe or an ANO.
MR. OTNESS replied no, he is of Norwegian descent from
Petersburg.
CHAIR OLSON asked if Mr. Otness has ever been employed by a CDQ
or the pollock industry.
MR. OTNESS replied never.
JULIE RAYMOND-YAKOUBIAN, Anthropologist, Natural Resources
Division, Kawerak Inc., Nome, said that Kawerak is the Alaska
Native non-profit for the Bering Strait region, representing 20
tribes. Kawerak strongly supports SJR 29. The concerns of
regional residents, tribes and tribal organizations must be a
part of the decision-making process on par with the commercial
fishing industry. Tribally designated voting seats, filled by
representatives without ties to CDQ's, or other sectors of the
industrial fishing industry, are required for a fair and
balanced council. Representation on NPFMC committees or the
advisory panel is not sufficient; actual voting seats are
required.
4:14:01 PM
Over the past two years, Kawerak has fully participated in the
NPFMC process by providing written comments and testifying at
the meetings of the NPFMC, its committees and advisory panel.
Kawerak has facilitated the attendance of other regional tribal
representatives as well.
MS. RAYMOND-YAKOUBIAN suggested one change to SJR 29: changing
the wording from "or the pollock industry" to "or other
industrial commercial fishing interests", or something similar,
on page 1, lines 5-6 and page 2, lines 23-24.
CHAIR OLSON asked Ms. Raymond-Yakoubian to send a written
possible amendment for consideration.
ART IVANHOFF, Southern Norton Sound Fish and Game Advisory
Committee (SNSAC) and Native Village of Unalakleet (NVU) said he
supported SJR 29. The Norton Sound salmon stocks have been
depleted since 1998 and the Alaska Board of Fish identified the
stock as a stock of concern. The same situation applies to the
Yukon and Kuskokwim drainages. In 2007, the Bering Sea Aleutian
Island Talkeet had a by-catch of 130,000 chinook which was
considered a debacle. The accumulative by-catch between 2003 and
2007 was about 380,000 chinook that would have been destined for
river systems. In June of 2008, Southern Norton Sound attended
and testified at a NPFMC meeting in Kodiak; the absence of
tribes at the table was obvious. He noted that a trolling survey
will be conducted in the Northern Bering Sea. Many, who depend
on the salmon, and other resources, are concerned.
4:18:53 PM
MR. IVANHOFF said villages that depend on the resources need an
opportunity to sit at the table. Southern Norton Sound has 18
organizations endorsing this effort, including the Alaska
Federation of Natives, the Alaska Inter-tribal Council and
Alaska Village Initiatives. Several CDQ groups have endorsed the
effort as well. Tribes are watching decisions being made that
impact their way of life. The implementation of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act included a fundamental oversight: tribes were left
out of the whole process. Eight regional councils were developed
under the act and only one has a tribal representative.
SENATOR THOMAS asked if representatives of the most affected
areas had attended the NPFMC meetings to express concerns.
MR. IVANHOFF said representatives have testified on numerous
occasions. He reiterated that they attended the June 2008 NPFMC
meeting in Kodiak looking for a reduction in chinook by-catch.
SENATOR THOMAS asked if this was to no avail.
MR. IVANHOFF confirmed that the effort was to no avail. The
states and the industry have one agenda. People with a different
agenda, of conservation and protection of resources, are not
represented.
4:22:04 PM
KAREN GILLES, Executive Director, Bering Sea Fisherman's
Association (BSFA), said the association serves 128 communities
from the Arctic, Yukon-Kuskokwim and Bristol Bay regions. For
nearly 30 years, BSFA has balanced the commercial fishing
interest with the interests of its constituents and the need to
sustain fishery resources. BSFA's board of directors, made up of
commercial fisherman from coastal Alaska, agrees the NPFMC is
weighted toward the industry. BSFA's board supports the concept
of more seats on the NPFMC to better represent Western Alaskan
issues. The concept of additional seats started as a response to
the April 2009 NPFMC action on chinook by-catch which showed
that the NPFMC is ill-suited and inadequately designed to
address that issue and others. With Alaska holding only a slim
majority of the voting seats of the NPFMC, the needed votes on
issues of importance to Alaska, particularly subsistence and
even sport fisheries, are difficult to obtain. The BSFA has
talked to Alaska's congressional delegates and SJR 29 would open
dialogue further. BSFA supports SJR 29.
4:25:34 PM
SENATOR THOMAS asked Ms. Gilles' opinion on whether or not
Alaska is the gold standard of sustainability.
MS. GILLES said that statement has been applied at both the
council level with federal management and at the state level.
The substantial amount of research looking at the health and
status of stocks, especially in the AYK regions, would not be
needed if they were managed properly. ADF&G's in-season
management, while noteworthy, does not give them an
understanding of what is happening with the stocks. Stocks have
been suffering for a long time and the necessary attention has
only begun. State management is not at a gold standard. At the
federal level, the eco-system based management approach is
almost cutting edge but the application, in some situations, is
not carried through due to other interests.
4:29:19 PM
CHAIR OLSON asked if BSFA members all have limited entry
permits.
MS. GILLES said BSFA membership is based on residency and some
have limited entry permits, but not all.
CHAIR OLSON asked if the CDQ's are in favor of SJR 29 seeing as
they are dependent on some at-sea processors and financial
agreements.
MS. GILLES said she does not know the answer but said CDQ's walk
a fine line.
4:30:41 PM
CHAIR OLSON closed public testimony.
SENATOR FRENCH said he supports the idea and is ready to move
SJR 29.
SENATOR THOMAS said he wants to clarify who would appoint the
new members and that the language on page 2, lines 22-24 be
changed to specify that the appointments should be from Alaskan
federally recognized tribes and/or ANO's.
CHAIR OLSON said he would like Ms. Raymond-Yakoubian's
suggestion as well and would like to bring a committee
substitute for SJR 29 back to committee in the next meeting.
SENATOR THOMAS also suggested that information on the make-up of
the existing NPFMC be gathered in order to be passed on to the
next committee.
SENATOR MENARD said she thinks the Magnuson-Stevens act should
be looked at for this fundamental oversight and imbalance.
CHAIR OLSON held SJR 29 in committee.
4:33:20 PM
CHAIR OLSON, seeing no further business to come before the
committee, adjourned the meeting at 4:33 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|