Legislature(1999 - 2000)
03/27/2000 05:05 PM House FSH
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON FISHERIES March 27, 2000 5:05 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Representative John Harris, Co-Chair Representative Carl Morgan, Co-Chair Representative Fred Dyson Representative Jim Whitaker Representative Bill Hudson Representative Mary Kapsner Representative Hal Smalley MEMBERS ABSENT All members present OTHER HOUSE MEMBERS PRESENT Representative Alan Austerman COMMITTEE CALENDAR HOUSE BILL NO. 333 "An Act relating to the accounting for and appropriations of the dive fishery management assessment; and providing for an effective date." - MOVED HB 333 OUT OF COMMITTEE HOUSE BILL NO. 360 "An Act relating to registration for commercial set gillnet fishing sites; relating to leases for shore fisheries development; and providing for an effective date." - HEARD AND HELD PREVIOUS ACTION BILL: HB 333 SHORT TITLE: DIVE FISHERY MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT Jrn-Date Jrn-Page Action 2/02/00 2070 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS 2/02/00 2070 (H) FSH, RES, FIN 2/02/00 2070 (H) FISCAL NOTE (F&G) 2/02/00 2071 (H) GOVERNOR'S TRANSMITTAL LETTER 2/02/00 2071 (H) REFERRED TO FSH 3/27/00 (H) FSH AT 5:00 PM CAPITOL 124 BILL: HB 360 SHORT TITLE: SET NET SITES/SHORE FISHERIES DEVELOPMT Jrn-Date Jrn-Page Action 2/09/00 2149 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS 2/09/00 2149 (H) FSH, RES, FIN 2/09/00 2149 (H) 2 ZERO FISCAL NOTES (F&G, DNR) 2/09/00 2149 (H) GOVERNOR'S TRANSMITTAL LETTER 2/09/00 2149 (H) REFERRED TO FSH 3/27/00 (H) FSH AT 5:00 PM CAPITOL 124 WITNESS REGISTER GERON BRUCE, Legislative Liaison Office of the Commissioner Department of Fish & Game PO Box 25526 Juneau, Alaska 99802-5526 POSITION STATEMENT: Presented HB 333. CAROL CARROLL, Director Central Office Division of Support Services Department of Natural Resources 400 Willoughby Avenue, 5th Floor Juneau, Alaska 99801-1724 POSITION STATEMENT: Presented HB 360. RICK THOMPSON, Regional Manager Land - Southcentral Region Office Division of Mining, Land and Water Department of Natural Resources 3601 C Street, Suite 1080 Anchorage, Alaska 99503-5937 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on HB 360. SUE ASPELUND, Bristol Bay Setnetter PO Box 1715 Cordova, Alaska 99574 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to HB 360. TOM CHURCH, Prince William Sound Setnetter PO Box 406 Cordova, Alaska 99574 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to HB 360. DAN CHALUP, Representative Kachemak Bay Fish Producers Co-op RDO Red Mountain Homer, Alaska 99603 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to HB 360. SANDY UMLAUF, President Ugashik Set Net Association PO Box 2407 Soldotna, Alaska 99669 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to HB 360. PAUL SHADURA II, Kenai Setnetter PO Box 1632 Kenai, Alaska 99611-1632 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to HB 360. DAN OGG, Kodiak Setnetter PO Box 2754 Kodiak, Alaska 99615-2754 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to HB 360. MIKE NUGENT, Kodiak Setnetter PO Box 1937 Kodiak, Alaska 99615-1937 POSITION STATEMENT: Asked a question regarding the moratorium. AL BAUMAN, President Kvichak Setnetters Association PO Box 91118 Anchorage, Alaska 99509-1118 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to HB 360. ROGER KUCHENBECKER, Bristol Bay Fisher PO Box 876608 Wasilla, Alaska 99687-6608 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to HB 360. JAMES PAHL, Prince William Sound Fisher PO Box 179 Cordova, Alaska 99574 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to HB 360. AL WHALEY, Representative Prince William Sound Set Netters Association PO Box 671789 Chugiak, Alaska 99567-1789 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to HB 360. KARL KIRCHER, Executive Director Kenai Fishermen's Association 43961 Kalifonsky Beach Road Soldotna, Alaska 99669 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to HB 360. KIM RICE,(PH) Vice President Egegik Set Net Association (Address not provided) POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to HB 360. LAUREN MOSS (PH), Prince William Sound Setnetter (Address not provided) Girdwood, Alaska 99587 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to HB 360. ACTION NARRATIVE TAPE 00-10, SIDE A Number 0001 CO-CHAIRMAN JOHN HARRIS called the House Special Committee on Fisheries meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. Members present at the call to order were Representatives Harris, Morgan, Whitaker and Smalley. Representatives Dyson, Hudson and Kapsner arrived as the meeting was in progress. HB 333 - DIVE FISHERY MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT CO-CHAIRMAN HARRIS announced the first order of business as House Bill 333, "An Act relating to the accounting for and appropriations of the dive fishery management assessment; and providing for an effective date." Number 0121 GERON BRUCE, Legislative Liaison, Office of the Commissioner, Department of Fish & Game, came before the committee to present the bill. This is a piece of legislation that the Department of Fish & Game requested and worked on in cooperation with the Southeast Alaska Regional Dive Fisheries Association [SARDFA]. This bill is an example of private industry working with a government agency to bring about programs that both feel are beneficial. He explained that dive fishers in Southeast Alaska and the department were both frustrated in that attempts to expand the [assessment] of the stocks were limited because of funding. As a result, dive fishers stepped forward and indicated their willingness to pay an assessment above and beyond what they already pay through normal fisheries business taxes to go towards stock assessment and research to help make additional resources available and to expand the fishery. This bill, therefore, reclassifies the funds collected under the assessments as non- general fund program receipts. Number 0395 CO-CHAIRMAN HARRIS indicated that the bill is self-explanatory. He entertained a motion to move it out of committee. Number 0423 REPRESENTATIVE BILL HUDSON made a motion to move HB 333, version 1-GH2022.A, out of committee with individual recommendations and attached fiscal notes; he asked unanimous consent. There being no objection, HB 333 so moved from the House Special Committee on Fisheries. CO-CHAIRMAN HARRIS called for a brief at-ease at 5:10 p.m. in order to hand the gavel over to Co-chairman Morgan. CO-CHAIRMAN CARL MORGAN called the meeting back to order at 5:13 p.m. HB 360 - SET NET SITES/SHORE FISHERIES DEVELOPMT CO-CHAIRMAN MORGAN announced the next order of business as House Bill 360, "An Act relating to registration for commercial set gillnet fishing sites; relating to leases for shore fisheries development; and providing for an effective date." Number 0465 CAROL CARROLL, Director, Central Office, Division of Support Services, Department of Natural Resources, came before the committee to present the bill. She explained that last year the shore fisheries program was reduced by $200,000 leaving the department with $100,000 to run a program that they couldn't afford. At the time of the budget cut, the department informed the legislature that in order to run some type of shore fisheries program they would have to come back with legislation. House Bill 360 is the department's attempt to devise a program that they can run with the amount of money left in their budget. She noted that shore fishers pay a fee of $300 a year, which goes into the general fund. The department, however, is only allowed to expend $100,000 of those fees. The bill proposes a program with a lesser level of service. For example, there would no longer be a lease program and a means to resolve conflicts between users. Those in disagreement could either use mediation, arbitration or the court system. Number 0756 REPRESENTATIVE FRED DYSON stated it seems that going to mediation and/or the court system is a lengthy process. In that way, the fish would be gone. He's worried that some disputes would not be settled in a reasonable amount of time and therefore end up in violence. MS. CARROLL replied there has been testimony to that effect. Number 0816 REPRESENTATIVE HAL SMALLEY stated he has heard from the industry that they would like to keep the existing shore fisheries lease program. They have indicated that nothing is broken so why try to fix it. He asked Ms. Carroll whether she is saying that there is no longer a program since the funds have been cut. MS. CARROLL replied there is $100,000 for a program, but right now there is a moratorium on any new shore fisheries leases and the Department of Natural Resources is doing what they can to keep up with any conflicts and adjudications. Number 0873 REPRESENTATIVE SMALLEY asked Ms. Carroll to indicate the number of challenges. He agrees with Representative Dyson in that the fishing season would be gone by the time there is any adjudication by using mediation, arbitration and/or the court system. MS. CARROLL replied she's not sure of the numbers. She deferred the question to Mr. Rick Thompson of the Department of Natural Resources. Number 0937 RICK THOMPSON, Regional Manager, Land - Southcentral Region Office, Division of Mining, Land and Water, Department of Natural Resources, testified via teleconference from Anchorage. He doesn't have specific numbers with him, but he can say that in the past several years the department has worked hard to reduce the number of withstanding conflicts. He noted that conflicts tend to arise with new applications for a lease, which can take anywhere from 12 months to 18 months to adjudicate. REPRESENTATIVE SMALLEY asked Mr. Thompson whether a site is fished when it is being adjudicated. MR. THOMPSON replied it depends on the type of conflict. He noted that a person does not need a lease to fish a site, but in order to get the lease any conflict has to be resolved. Number 1029 REPRESENTATIVE SMALLEY commented that in Cook Inlet, where he used to fish, conflicts tended to come with new leaseholder. In that way, a person moved in on a site and if there wasn't a lease or some method of showing that the site was taken it was not fished. According to his recollection, a new purchaser was allowed to fish until there was a ruling. MR. THOMPSON stated, if a lease is not involved, the first person on the site has the right to fish that site. Number 1101 REPRESENTATIVE DYSON asked Mr. Thompson whether there would be an implicit or explicit transfer of the site with the sale of a setnet permit with the new registration system. MR. THOMPSON answered that the registration sites would be transferable. Number 1164 REPRESENTATIVE HUDSON asked whether there is a value in the site, as well as the setnet permit. He further asked whether sites are owned and controlled by the state. MR. THOMPSON answered a site is exclusive to a leaseholder when that holder is fishing, otherwise it's public land. REPRESENTATIVE HUDSON asked whether a site is available to somebody only when it has been abandoned. MR. THOMPSON answered that is correct. REPRESENTATIVE HUDSON asked whether a lease is issued annually. MR. THOMPSON answered, currently, a lease is issued for a ten- year period. REPRESENTATIVE HUDSON asked whether a leaseholder can sublease a permit. MR. THOMPSON answered a leaseholder can assign his lease to another qualified fisher. Number 1286 REPRESENTATIVE DYSON stated that many sites have been in the same family for 50 years, and quite a few of them have had significant improvements made to them. He cited landing strips, water systems, beach roads and generators as examples. He can see how an annual registration system would cause a lot of anxiety. Is he correct in saying that as long as the same permit is in force a person is not in danger of losing his site under the new registration system? MS. CARROLL answered she believes that is correct. MR. THOMPSON stated existing leaseholders would automatically be granted a registration site for their site upon the natural expiration of their lease. Number 1385 REPRESENTATIVE DYSON said that in the areas where he has fished in Bristol Bay there are always those who set their outboards towards the channel from the beach, which raises the blood pressure of those on the beach. He asked what protection a leaseholder has in that case. MR. THOMPSON replied, under the current program, sites are surveyed and marked. There is a certain distance between nets, otherwise it becomes an enforcement issue involving the Department of Fish & Game. Number 1462 REPRESENTATIVE HUDSON asked whether a person can set a net outside his area. MR. THOMPSON answered that some districts allow that to happen, but not all. Number 1523 REPRESENTATIVE SMALLEY said at one time a person could fish as far offshore as the net could go, and at times the beach fishers ran a foul with the drift fishers for coming too close to the shore. As a result, a limit was set to 1.5 miles from mean high tide. He noted that in Cook Inlet, where he used to fish, the problems were the result of new fishers setting their nets and eventually encroaching on another person's site. Number 1572 REPRESENTATIVE DYSON stated that in the district where he has fished the jurisdiction for setnetters and driftnetters is about the range of a shotgun. [The comment was followed by laughter.] [THE RECORD REFLECTS THAT THE GAVEL WAS HANDED BACK TO CO- CHAIRMAN HARRIS] CO-CHAIRMAN HARRIS opened the meeting to public testimony. Number 1622 SUE ASPELUND, Bristol Bay Setnetter, testified via teleconference from Anchorage. She has setnetted in the Naknek-Kvichak district for 20 years and has been involved with the shore fisheries lease program for a great number of years. She currently holds a shore fishery lease. She is totally opposed to the language in HB 360 and SB 258, the companion bill in the Senate. She has seen the program work very successfully in the Naknek-Kvichak area. Her family has had the site for over 50 years. Her daughter is the fourth generation to fish on the site and despite that they have had to use the Department of Natural Resources for adjudication issues. Ms. Aspelund further said that lease holders pay a fee and they deserve to have adjudication service. This bill would totally destabilize what has evolved into a functional and effective program. As Representative Dyson has indicated, infrastructure is often developed on the adjacent upland with a ten-year lease period and knowledge of some protection. Setnet fisheries are unique in that oftentimes the entire family is present at a site because of the stability that the current system has provided. She doesn't believe that the registration program is going to work in terms of drawing a map and plugging in GPS [global positioning system] coordinates, for people make mistakes. She cited that when her site was surveyed the entire area was surveyed incorrectly by half a site. She said, If that can happen with people who are skilled and trained in their field and have all kinds of licenses to do what they do, think how complex the issues are going to be when we as individuals are trying to take a coordinate with GPS and turn and sketch it. MS. ASPELUND continued. When she was on the Naknek-Kvichak fish and game advisory committee, the Department of Natural Resources was instrumental in settling a major conflict on her beach, which if it had gone in one direction would have required every single setnetter on that beach to move his site. It was only because of the Department of Natural Resources that the conflict was successfully resolved. She encouraged the committee members to keep the bill in committee, unless significant changes are made to it. Program receipt authority is a possible option, but she would not continue to pay a $300-lease fee, if this is going to be the only protection for her site. Number 1829 REPRESENTATIVE MARY KAPSNER pointed out to Ms. Aspelund that if this legislation does not pass there will be no protection. It's better than nothing. It might not provide as many services as before, but in its absence there will be nothing. Number 1876 REPRESENTATIVE DYSON asked Ms. Aspelund whether he heard her say that, if the present program can be retained, the setnet community might be open to an increase in fees to fund the program. MS. ASPELUND replied, "No." The fees that they already pay adequately fund the program. She was talking about program receipt authority in which the user fees actually go towards funding the program. Number 1933 TOM CHURCH, Prince William Sound Setnetter, testified via teleconference from Cordova. He is speaking in opposition to the bill. According to his understanding, the old program costs about $300,000 a year to administer, and the setnetters were satisfied with that program. The fiscal note indicates that the program receipts bring in about $360,000 a year, which equates to a surplus. The department has indicated that they spend anywhere from $95,000 to $100,000 to administer the current program, which equates to about 26 percent of the revenue generated. As a result, the setnetters are getting less service for the same amount of fee. The way to go, he said, is to get rid of the moratorium, return to the old program, and if necessary ask for more money to administer the program. The old program is a proven program of stability and conflict resolution. A lengthy and costly process of mediation and arbitration would be in addition to the fees that setnetters currently pay. Number 2042 DAN CHALUP, Representative, Kachemak Bay Fish Producers Co-op, testified via teleconference from Homer. The co-op consists of 16 members who are all setnetters. The co-op is opposed to the bill for the reasons the previous testifiers have indicated. Why change something that is working well? The co-op also believes the money that setnetters are paying should be allocated to the Department of Natural Resources to support the program. Number 2102 SANDY UMLAUF, President, Ugashik Set Net Association, testified via teleconference from Kenai. The association represents approximately 65 setnet permits. She has setnetted in Cook Inlet and has encouraged other fishers to purchase shore fishery leases. The association requests that the committee members vote against the legislation. The old program was more than self- sustaining. It offered stability and provided a means for conflict resolution. Why throw away a self-sustaining program that was working? There was general satisfaction with the program amongst the setnetters. Some believe that the new program is being instituted so that the state can avoid the litigation costs of conflict resolution. If that is the case, she said, the thinking is wrong. This new program can lead to many different types of litigations. The self-registration program uses GPS coordinates for the location of fishing nets, when the U.S. Department of Defense continuously scrambles the outgoing GPS satellite data coordinates. As a result, the coordinates can be up to 100 feet off creating disagreements. She said, This sort of discrepancy is critical in areas where the shore fishery leases are stacked in to the available tidelands exactly 300 feet apart. One setnet fisherman can say his GPS showed one thing and his neighbor can show him something else, that their GPS coordinates will show on different days. These types of disagreements can wind up being settled with our readily available guns. Who do you suppose the families will be suing then? The deepest pocket they can find, and that would be our great state of Alaska. If the fishery does become disorderly because of shore fishery disputes the Department of Fish & Game will be forces to close down the setnet fishery. Once again, opening up the threat of litigation to the state by the fishermen who were able and ready to be fishing and unable to fish. The new shore fishery registration program does not allow state law enforcement to do anything with individual fishermen disputes on the beach. Enforcement would basically have to tell all of the setnet fishermen involved in a dispute to take their nets out of the water, stop fishing, and enter voluntary arbitration or go to court over the dispute. The season would long be over before those fishermen would get resolution of where they could set their nets. Now, this bill, without comment or commercial fishermen's input, (indisc.) the old program and replaces it with a self-registration system. And fishermen are expected to pay the same fee. Ugashik Set Net Association strongly opposes the changes and urges you to support the current program. Number 2311 PAUL SHADURA II, Kenai Setnetter, testified via teleconference from Kenai. His family has been setnetting in Kenai for approximately 100 years. He remembers stories from his father and uncles about the days of having to be first-in-time and first-in-place. They would start staking their sites as soon as the snow started to melt. In that regard, leases have gone a long way in providing continuity. In the area that he setnets there are about 50 to 60 nets within a 4 mile by 1.5 mile area out from the beach, and the Department of Fish & Game will not write a ticket if the nets are 580 feet apart. Without setnet leases, there would not be an orderly fishery whatsoever, and a shotgun might be right for the types of confrontations that would ensue. He opposes the bill. The fees are sufficient to cover the costs of the current program. He suggested increasing the fee for new members as a means to get more funds. It would also be more advantageous and cost effective to break the moratorium rather than to try and implement the program called for in the bill. A new program would probably cost the state more money to try to implement. Number 2448 DAN OGG, Kodiak Setnetter, testified via teleconference from Kodiak. He falls in line with a lot of the previous testimony. He sees language in the bill as causing problems. For example, on page 7, subparagraph (j), the language allows for anybody to register a site within three years after the previous person registered his site. The language doesn't give the first person a priority, which allows for "claim jumping" and disorderliness. But, if the language is changed so that it's enforceable upon the persons who have registered areas as it stands now, it just might work. Number 2533 MIKE NUGENT, Kodiak Setnetter, testified via teleconference from Kodiak. He asked Ms. Carroll whether the moratorium is for new sites or for renewals as well. MS. CARROLL replied, she believes, that the moratorium covers all leases, not just new ones. MR. THOMPSON stated, at the current time, the Department of Natural Resources is not accepting any applications for new leases. The department is trying to renew the ones that have expired during the interim period. Number 2606 CO-CHAIRMAN HARRIS announced that he does not intend to move the bill out of committee today. He plans to only take public testimony. Number 2629 AL BAUMAN, President, Kvichak Setnetters Association, testified via teleconference from Anchorage. He has fished in Bristol Bay for about 25 years. He applied for his first lease in 1983. He has seen the shore fishery program develop over the years, and it has always worked closely with the fishers. In 1993, when the fees were raised from $150 to $300 to cover expenses, the cost of the program was just over $200,000 and there were four employees. The program is down to one employee, but the fee has remained the same when the actual cost, aside from labor, is somewhere between $30,000 and $50,000. This legislation, along with SB 258, would gut the current program. There would be no new lease applications; no amending of existing diagrams, which is necessary from time to time because of erosion or the elimination of a site to make another one better; no renewal of existing leases; no conflict mediation; and no public notices of the new registered sites, which is a crucial vehicle in diverting conflict. The Kvichak Setnetters Association is wondering why they would be paying for this new program, for they would not be getting any new services. He doesn't know of any setnet organization or any setnetter who backs this new registration program. The only way that he can see to continue paying a $300- fee is if it is applied specifically to the program. Number 2777 ROGER KUCHENBECKER, Bristol Bay Fisher, testified via teleconference from Mat-Su. He is very much against the bill. It is ill-advised, and it shouldn't proceed any further in the legislative process. He supports the present system for various reasons. The main reason is because there are maps showing where the setnet sites are located, which is very user friendly, lends stability, and it works. An advantage to the old system is that the department can adjudicate when there are conflicts, which is very important to a lot of fishers. It is much more cost effective than individual fishers having to resolve conflicts themselves. Another reason to oppose the bill is the GPS system. There isn't enough accuracy with the hand-held units that would be required under this new registration system, which would result in all sorts of conflicts. In speaking with other fishers, the vast majority do not support the new registration system and the fees involved. They feel that they would be paying out money and not getting that much of a service in return. Number 2891 JAMES PAHL, Prince William Sound Fisher, testified via teleconference from Cordova. He opposes the bill. He's worried about the language in the bill that indicates an auction to the highest bidder. It seems that an auction would cost money given all the details involved. Number 2938 AL WHALEY, Representative, Prince William Sound Set Netters Association, testified via teleconference from Anchorage. He is a setnet permit holder. He thinks HB 360 is a wonderful bill for the Department of Natural Resources, but he thinks it's a lousy bill for setnetters. It is completely based on funding needs. It is not based on logic in any way. Setnetters have paid a fee for years, and essentially the only thing that they get is a section in the water to put a net and a means to resolve a conflict. If the bill was to pass, setnetters would simply be paying money for nothing. TAPE 00-10, SIDE B Number 0001 MR. WHALEY continued. He is opposed to the bill, and he hasn't met a setnetter yet who isn't opposed to it either. He feels fortunate to be a part of Prince William Sound, for there is a small group of setnetters and there is not a lot of conflict. But in the event of a conflict, because of the remoteness, it would not be resolved in an amicable fashion. He wonders why setnetters would have to pay the state a few of $300 when the cost to resolve a conflict would have to be paid by them directly. Number 2918 KARL KIRCHER, Executive Director, Kenai Fishermen's Association, testified via teleconference from Kenai. He referred to a memo, dated October 5, 1992, from the Department of Natural Resources, which details how the increased rental fees for the shore fishery leases were calculated to ensure that adequate program receipts were collected to cover administrative costs. The memo also refers to AS 38.05.082(c), which states that the director shall establish a reasonable rent for shore fishery development leases that equals the administrative costs in processing a leasehold application. Given that logic, he is assuming that the fees would be reduced to cover the approximate $100,000 that it would take to run the new program, which would result in $200,000 of less revenues brought in under the old program. In effect, the $200,000 cut made by the legislature in 1999 to the shore fisheries budget that resulted in this bill would be offset by a $200,000 reduction in revenue. The net effect is that setnetters would have a program that costs less, offers less, and provides less protection and stability than the original shore fishery lease program, and because of AS 38.05.082(c) the effect for either program is the same. MR. KIRCHER does not see the need to change a program that has worked well for so long, a program which brought stability and development to the fishery. He asked the committee members to look closely at the circumstances surrounding the original cuts to the funds that were clearly raised for a specific purpose. He also asked the committee members to inquire as to whether or not there are any specific areas of the shore fishery lease program that are financially or administratively problematic. The industry would be more than willing to address these issues. For now, he said, Department of Natural Resources should continue to issue renewals in order not to harm those whose leases expire while the problem is being resolved. He announced that the association does not support the bill, and that the association would be willing to work towards reinstating the old program. He noted that the Senate Resources Committee is working on a committee substitute for a type of program receipt accounting so that the funds raised by the program would be recognized and therefore make legislative funding for the program more likely in the future. Number 2776 KIM RICE (ph), Vice President, Egegik Set Net Association, testified via teleconference from an off-net location. He has setnetted in Bristol Bay for 15 years with his family. Setnetters are paying their way and the program works. He thinks that the solution is to approach the finance committees with recommendations from the committee members of the House Special Committee on Fisheries and ask them to restore the funding to the program. It is necessary for the survival of the fishery. It is mostly an Alaskan fishery, and the fishers deserve respect for their hard work. The money, he said, is more than enough. The conflicts of five to seven years ago have nothing to do with today. The facts indicate that the problematic areas have been resolved, for the most part. Setnetters need the security of a ten-year lease. He reiterated the approach should be a non- general fund receipt program similar to what the legislature is trying to do for the dive fishery. The setnet program has been around for 20 years, yet somehow they have been forsaken in the process. The state makes money off of the setnetters, and with the lack of conflicts there is going to be less of a need for a large staff. He further commented that the fishers were contacted about this bill after it was written, and that the Governor must not know what is going on, for this is a stable fishery and helps to stabilize the entire state. He hopes that the committee members table the bill. CO-CHAIRMAN HARRIS pointed out to Mr. Rice (ph) that the legislature, by constitution, cannot dedicate funds, but that there are other ways to get funds close to where they belong. Number 2626 LAUREN MOSS (PH), Prince William Sound Setnetter, testified via teleconference from an off-net location. She is a resident of Girdwood. She is a member of the Prince William Sound Set Netters Association. She opposes the bill. It holds nothing that is functional for setnetters. They would like to see funding restored to the present program because what is the point in fixing a program if it isn't broken. An increase of $360,000 a year to $3.6 million a year is a pretty big increase for a proposed system that would be ineffective; a program that is poorly written and full of holes. She cited a renewal system on a yearly basis does not guarantee that fees would not increase every time the legislature cuts Department of Natural Resource's budget, and she's a fisher that can't afford an increase in the fees. She also questions how the department can spend $300,000 for one part-time employee. She suggested that the committee members ask for an accounting of that budget before moving forward in judging the bill. She further noted that litigation costs are going to increase due to GPS inaccuracies. In the district where she setnets, certain sites are only 300 feet apart, and an inaccuracy of over 100 feet would set everybody on top of each other. A dispute would put everybody out of business. She would like to see the entire bill killed. She appreciates the efforts being made to rewrite the bill by putting the funds into a lease program account that can be appropriated solely for the shore fishery lease program. CO-CHAIRMAN HARRIS closed the meeting to public testimony. [HB 360 WAS HELD IN COMMITTEE FOR FURTHER CONSIDERATION] Number 2440 ADJOURNMENT There being no further business before the committee, Co-Chairman Harris adjourned the House Special Committee on Fisheries meeting at 6:07 p.m
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