Legislature(2001 - 2002)
03/18/2002 03:36 PM House FSH
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON FISHERIES
March 18, 2002
3:36 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Gary Stevens, Co-Chair
Representative Peggy Wilson, Co-Chair
Representative Drew Scalzi
Representative Fred Dyson
Representative John Coghill
Representative Mary Kapsner
Representative Beth Kerttula
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 46
Relating to the moratorium on fish farming in British Colombia.
- MOVED CSHJR 46(FSH) OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS ACTION
BILL: HJR 46
SHORT TITLE:BC MORATORIUM ON FISH FARMING
SPONSOR(S): FISHERIES
Jrn-Date Jrn-Page Action
02/19/02 2308 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME -
REFERRALS
02/19/02 2308 (H) FSH, RES
03/04/02 (H) FSH AT 3:30 PM CAPITOL 124
03/04/02 (H) Scheduled But Not Heard
03/18/02 (H) FSH AT 3:30 PM CAPITOL 124
WITNESS REGISTER
JEAN ELLIS, Staff
to Representative Peggy Wilson
Alaska State Legislature
Capitol Building, Room 409
Juneau, Alaska 99801
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented HJR 46 on behalf of the House
Special Committee on Fisheries, sponsor.
DOUG MECUM, Director
Division of Commercial Fisheries
Alaska Department of Fish & Game
P.O. Box 25526
Juneau Alaska 99802-5526
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified during hearing on HJR 46 about
the threats of farmed salmon.
SUE ASPELUND
Cordova District Fisherman United (CDFU)
P.O. Box 939
Cordova, Alaska 99574
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HJR 46.
AURAH LANDAU
Southeast Alaska Conservation Council (SEACC)
419 6th Street
Juneau, Alaska 99801
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in favor of HJR 46 on behalf of
SEACC.
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 02-9, SIDE A
Number 0001
CO-CHAIR PEGGY WILSON called the House Special Committee on
Fisheries meeting to order at 3:36 p.m. Members present at the
call to order were Representatives Kerttula, Dyson, Scalzi,
Stevens, and Wilson. Representatives Coghill and Kapsner joined
the meeting as it was in progress.
HJR 46-BC MORATORIUM ON FISH FARMING
CO-CHAIR WILSON announced that the matter before the committee
was HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 46, Relating to the moratorium on
fish farming in British Colombia.
Number 0120
CO-CHAIR STEVENS made a motion to adopt the proposed committee
substitute (CS) for HJR 46, version 22-LS1582\J, Utermohle,
2/25/02, for purposes of discussion. There being no objection,
Version J was adopted as the work draft.
Number 0154
JEAN ELLIS, Staff to Representative Peggy Wilson, Alaska State
Legislature, explained HJR 46 on behalf of the House Special
Committee on Fisheries, sponsor. The bill requests that the
government of British Columbia reinstate the moratorium on
finfish farming. She said the moratorium had been in place for
several years but had been removed. This removal would become
effective at the end of April. Ms. Ellis said she had worked
with Representatives Kerttula and Dyson on the issue. She
expressed her feeling that the proposed CS had taken care of
some of the concerns that might have been raised about accuracy
in the first version.
MS. ELLIS listed various supporting statements that had been
included in the bill packets.
Number 0390
MS. ELLIS read the sponsor statement for HJR 46. She said:
On January 31, 2002, the Government of British
Columbia announced that the provincial moratorium on
fish farming would be lifted. This decision could
have a substantial effect on the Alaskan economy and
environment, both directly and indirectly.
This resolution strongly encourages the Government of
British Columbia to reinstate the moratorium on fish
farming.
In 2001 there were 29,000 accidental releases of
farmed fish from British Columbia salmon farms.
Escaped farmed Atlantic salmon have been caught in
Alaska commercial fisheries. The escaped Atlantic
salmon pose a threat to Alaska's marine environment
and the ecology of Pacific Salmon.
Escaped Atlantic salmon from farms in British Columbia
are now spawning in approximately 80 streams on the
West Coast. These escaped salmon compete with wild
Alaskan salmon for food, and there is continuing
concern with possible disease transfers.
Seafood is Alaska's number one international export,
and the commercial fishing industry is Alaska's
largest private-sector employer.
Therefore, the Fisheries Committee strongly encourages
the Alaska State Legislature to support the
reinstatement of the British Columbia moratorium on
fish farming.
Number 0512
CO-CHAIR STEVENS asked what changes were made to the original
bill by the proposed CS.
MS. ELLIS said the changes were mostly to make small, technical
corrections. She gave the example of the change from language
that read "native Alaska wild salmon" to "native wild salmon"
with regard to disease transfer. She listed other examples of
technical changes.
Number 0717
REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL took issue with the resolution's claim
that seafood is Alaska's number one export. He said that oil
was the state's largest export.
Number 0738
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON corrected Representative Coghill by
pointing out that all of Alaska's oil goes to domestic markets,
most of them in Washington and Oregon.
Number 0769
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON proposed an amendment to page 2, line 3.
He suggested inserting the word "escaped" between "Whereas" and
"farmed".
Number 0814
REPRESENTATIVE SCALZI moved to adopt the foregoing as Amendment
1. There being no objection, the amendment was adopted.
Number 0848
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON offered [Amendment 2]. He suggested
inserting "Alaska" between "80" and "streams" on page 2, line 8.
Number 0910
DOUG MECUM, Director, Division of Commercial Fisheries, Alaska
Department of Fish & Game, testified before the committee. He
said there have been almost 400,000 reported escaped Atlantic
salmon since 1991, and he added that most escapes go unreported.
There is very little monitoring or enforcement of the farms.
There have been three documented recoveries of Atlantic salmon
in Alaskan fresh waters.
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON withdrew Amendment 2.
Number 1020
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON proposed Amendment 3, on page 2, line 20.
He suggested changing "Alaska [State] Legislature strongly
supports the reinstatement of the British Columbia moratorium on
fish farming" to "Alaska [State] Legislature requests the
reinstatement of the [British Columbia] moratorium on fish
farming until Alaskans can be assured that all possible steps
have been taken to preclude further escapes of farmed fish."
Number 1043
REPRESENTATIVE SCALZI moved to adopt the foregoing as Amendment
3.
Number 1067
REPRESENTATIVE KERTTULA said she did not like the amendment
because she does not like fish farming, even without escaped
fish. She said there are myriad problems with fish farming
outside of the economic [repercussions for Alaska's fisheries].
Pollution and destruction of estuaries were two other reasons
she gave for not supporting fish farming.
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON said the danger to [Alaska] is escaped
fish. What [the British Columbians] do to their own waters is
"kind of their business." He said British Columbia has its own
economic problems it is trying to deal with. He said, "We can't
tell them 'Don't compete with us.'" He said [Alaska] can tell
British Columbia to not "mess up our fish and our waters."
Number 1200
REPRESENTATIVE SCALZI agreed with Representative Dyson's point.
He said the state's concern should not be an economic one.
Number 1289
REPRESENTATIVE KERTTULA said she appreciated the point of not
interfering with other governments, but said she did not think
it wrong to have broader concerns about the environment. She
said she would go further [than the present language in the
bill]. She said [the British Columbia government] could assure
Alaskans by writing a letter [that more fish will not escape].
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON pointed out that he did not say ["assure
Alaskans"]; he said until "Alaskans are assured".
Number 1368
REPRESENTATIVE KERTTULA suggested that the language at least
state, "until Alaskans are assured that there is no escapement".
Number 1438
REPRESENTATIVE KERTTULA moved to amend Amendment 3 to say,
"until Alaskans are assured there will be no negative impacts on
Alaskan waters or fishery resources".
Number 1480
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON wondered if that language "would water it
down." He warned there might be dangers unapparent, but the
only real danger he could see was escaped fish surviving and
spawning in [Alaska's] streams. He said he was not sure if
Representative Kerttula's amendment [to Amendment 3] was
stronger or not.
REPRESENTATIVE KERTTULA said she thought it was stronger because
it says, "no negative impacts".
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON made it known he did not want to hold the
bill up for that.
Number 1508
MR. MECUM told the committee the issue of escapes was amplified
by a [British Columbia] auditor general's report that proclaimed
escapes of less than 5 percent as acceptable. He posited that
as long as [British Columbia] is willing to allow some level of
escapes - that could be in the order of hundreds of thousands of
fish - the department has a problem with that. That is why the
department is supporting the resolution to keep the moratorium
from being lifted. He pointed out that the ability to show no
negative impact is a much tougher standard to document.
REPRESENTATIVE KERTTULA relented, saying she would be satisfied
with the original language.
Number 1607
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON mentioned he had read somewhere that there
had been a transmission [of disease] to chum salmon near
Vancouver Island.
MR. MECUM said Atlantic salmon were infected, but it was
believed to be from sockeye salmon. He said [infectious
hematopoietic necrosis virus] was being transferred from wild
stocks to [farmed] stocks. He characterized this as dangerous
because the wild salmon swimming by the net pens near the Nass
and Skeena Rivers - two large sockeye producers - could be
infected. He also said he was concerned about escaped farmed
salmon with the disease. He stated that a fish farm could
become a "disease sink."
Number 1700
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON used colorful metaphors to illustrate the
initial tenor of the language in his first draft. He assured
the committee he had toned it down with the new version.
Number 1757
CO-CHAIR STEVENS asked Representative Dyson whom he was asking
to do what.
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON asked that page 2, line 20 become the first
"Resolved", to ask that British Columbia reinstate the
moratorium. He said that the [U.S. Department of State] would
be asked to pay attention and "hold this big club" when
negotiating over the North American Free Trade Agreement or the
Pacific Salmon Treaty [with Canada]. He said he was open to
better wording and amendments.
Number 1827
REPRESENTATIVE SCALZI restated Amendment 3 and made a motion to
make it be the first "Resolved" of the bill on page 2, line 15
as follows:
[BE IT] RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature
requests the reinstatement of the British Columbia
moratorium on fish farming until Alaskans can be
assured that all possible steps have been taken to
preclude further escapes of farmed fish from British
Columbia waters
There being no objection, [Amendment 3] was adopted.
Number 1969
REPRESENTATIVE SCALZI [moved to adopt Amendment 4] on page 2,
line 12, to add language to read:
WHEREAS Canada is now entering into finfish farming
for halibut and sablefish
As part of that amendment, the next "Whereas" clause on line 13
would be changed to read:
WHEREAS the long-term health of Alaska's wild salmon
stocks, as well as halibut and sablefish, is of vital
economic and cultural importance
REPRESENTATIVE SCALZI said the reason for the [Amendment 4] is
that there has been $50 million allocated to finfish farming of
halibut and sablefish in British Columbia. He had no problem
with its being done on land [in tanks], but the Canadian program
would take place in ocean pens. He expressed his concern about
the same issues for halibut and sablefish as the resolution
speaks of for salmon. The resolution would "just add these two
species to the pot."
Number 2086
CO-CHAIR WILSON asked whether there was any objection. There
being none, Amendment 4 was adopted.
Number 2108
SUE ASPELUND, Cordova District Fisherman United (CDFU),
testified via teleconference. She characterized HJR 46 as an
excellent resolution. She said it addresses many of the
concerns that Alaskans have about fish farms being adjacent to
Alaskan waters. She called it a piece of good work and urged
its passage.
Number 2143
AURA LANDAU, Southeast Alaska Conservation Council (SEACC),
testified before the committee. She echoed thanks to the
committee for bringing the resolution forth. She reiterated
that wild salmon are the mainstay of many families in Alaska.
She characterized salmon as the "heart of the rainforest" from
British Columbia through Alaska. She said SEACC supports the
legislation.
Number 2201
REPRESENTATIVE SCALZI moved to report CSHJR 46, version 22LS-
1582\J, Utermohle, 2/25/02, as amended, out of committee with
individual recommendations and the zero fiscal note. There
being no objection, CSHJR 46(FSH) was moved out of the House
Special Committee on Fisheries.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Fisheries meeting was adjourned at 4:09
p.m.
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