ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE  HOUSE RESOURCES STANDING COMMITTEE  February 6, 2004 1:05 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Representative Nancy Dahlstrom, Co-Chair Representative Beverly Masek, Co-Chair Representative Carl Gatto Representative Bob Lynn Representative Nick Stepovich Representative Beth Kerttula Representative David Guttenberg MEMBERS ABSENT  Representative Cheryll Heinze, Vice Chair Representative Kelly Wolf COMMITTEE CALENDAR HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 25 Relating to Alaska Wild Salmon Week, June 28 - July 4, 2004. - MOVED CSHCR 25(RES) OUT OF COMMITTEE PREVIOUS ACTION BILL: HCR 25 SHORT TITLE: ALASKA WILD SALMON WEEK REPRESENTATIVE(s): WOLF 01/20/04 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS 01/20/04 (H) FSH, RES 02/02/04 (H) FSH AT 9:00 AM CAPITOL 124 02/02/04 (H) Moved Out of Committee 02/02/04 (H) MINUTE(FSH) 02/04/04 (H) FSH RPT 5DP 1AM 02/04/04 (H) DP: GARA, OGG, WILSON, SAMUELS, 02/04/04 (H) SEATON; AM: GUTTENBERG 02/06/04 (H) RES AT 1:00 PM CAPITOL 124   WITNESS REGISTER LEONA OBERTS, Staff to Representative Kelly Wolf Alaska State Legislature Juneau, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Presented HCR 25 on behalf of Representative Wolf, sponsor. ACTION NARRATIVE TAPE 04-2, SIDE A  Number 0001 CO-CHAIR NANCY DAHLSTROM called the House Resources Standing Committee meeting to order at 1:05 p.m. Representatives Dahlstrom, Masek, Lynn, Stepovich, Kerttula, and Guttenberg were present at the call to order. Representative Gatto arrived as the meeting was in progress. HCR 25-ALASKA WILD SALMON WEEK   CHAIR DAHLSTROM announced that the first order of business would be HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 25, Relating to Alaska Wild Salmon Week, June 28 - July 4, 2004. Number 0096 LEONA OBERTS, Staff to Representative Kelly Wolf, Alaska State Legislature, presented HCR 25 on behalf of the sponsor, Representative Wolf. Ms. Oberts highlighted that the committee packet includes letters of support. Ms. Oberts paraphrased from the sponsor statement, which read [original punctuation provided]: Alaska is the largest commercial wild salmon fishery in the world and employees more than 29,000 people. Nearly 95% of all commercially caught salmon in the Unites States are harvested in Alaska. In the last decade, state salmon harvest totaled more than $4.5 billion, making salmon extremely vital to Alaska's economy. For both visitors and Alaskans, the sport of fishing is one of the most popular activities in the state. Last year, approximately 470,000 resident and non- resident licenses were issued for sport fishing. Beyond the importance of commercial and sport fishing, salmon has been a nutritional source for generations of Alaskans and is a large part of the state's heritage. Rich in Omega 3 oils, salmon is a healthy food that can help lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. House Concurrent Resolution 25 would proclaim June 28 - July 4, 2004 as "Alaska Salmon Week". This proclamation will recognize the salmon industry as a huge part of all Alaskan's lives and raise public awareness of one of Alaska's most important industries by promoting and celebrating the catching and eating of salmon. MS. OBERTS noted that in the previous committee of referral there was a question with regard to the number resident licenses issued for sport fishing. The number [of 470,000 resident licenses] was verified by the legislation liaison at the Alaska Department of Fish & Game. Number 0385 REPRESENTATIVE GUTTENBERG turned attention to page 1, line 8, and pointed out that the language in the constitution doesn't refer to "maximum", rather it refers to the "sustained yield principle". He asked if that was a concern of the sponsor. MS. OBERTS answered that she didn't believe the language in question [whether included or not] would be a concern of the sponsor. REPRESENTATIVE GUTTENBERG questioned whether there has been a delineation between sustained yield and maximum sustained yield. He asked if that has been a management issue. MS. OBERTS recalled that HB 396 [has been introduced] to address that issue. She specified that she didn't believe the sponsor would have a problem with deleting "maximum" for the purposes of this resolution. REPRESENTATIVE GUTTENBERG commented, "It's amazing that we haven't done this before." Number 0544 REPRESENTATIVE GUTTENBERG moved that the committee adopt [Amendment 1], as follows: Page 1, line 8, Delete "maximum" REPRESENTATIVE GATTO noted his agreement that it's possible to have a maximum sustained yield by sacrificing a lot of other things, which isn't the intent. MS. OBERTS, in response to Co-Chair Dahlstrom, confirmed that she didn't believe Representative Wolf would have any problem with Amendment 1. CO-CHAIR DAHLSTROM pointed out that the resolution has a zero fiscal note. Co-Chair Dahlstrom asked if there was any objection to Amendment 1. There being no objection, Amendment 1 was adopted. Number 0676 CO-CHAIR MASEK moved to report HCR 25, as amended, out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal note. Co-Chair Masek requested unanimous consent. There being no objection, CSHCR 25(RES) was reported from the House Resources Standing Committee. ADJOURNMENT  There being no further business before the committee, the House Resources Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 1:15 p.m.