00 CS FOR SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 33(RES)                                                                            
01 Supporting reduction of fishing capacity in the Bering Sea fishing fleet and                                            
02 Americanization of the fishing fleet through passage of S. 1221, the "American                                          
03 Fisheries Act," by the United States Congress.                                                                          
04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                              
05  WHEREAS overcapitalization of fish harvesting capacity in the Bering Sea has                                         
06 resulted in highly compressed, derby-style fisheries; and                                                               
07  WHEREAS overcapitalized fisheries typically lead to excessive exploitation of a                                      
08 fishery resource, often resulting in a precipitous decrease in the economic yield of the fishery                        
09 resource; and                                                                                                           
10  WHEREAS the State of Alaska values sustainable fishery management principles,                                        
11 which include minimizing bycatch and waste, maximizing utilization of the fishery resources                             
12 harvested, minimizing adverse effects of fishing gear on fish habitat, and maximizing                                   
13 economic returns on the public fishery resource for the benefit of Alaska communities and the                           
14 citizens of the United States on the whole; and                                                                         
01  WHEREAS Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska has, with the cosponsorship of Senators                                        
02 Murkowski, Breaux, and Hollings, introduced S. 1221, the "American Fisheries Act"; and                                  
03  WHEREAS S. 1221 would effectively limit fishing capacity in the Bering Sea fishing                                   
04 fleet through vessel size limitations and ownership requirements; and                                                   
05  WHEREAS S. 1221 would limit the maximum length, tonnage, and shaft horsepower                                        
06 of vessels engaging in domestic fisheries in the United States navigable waters and exclusive                           
07 economic zone; and                                                                                                      
08  WHEREAS S. 1221 would require that at least 75 percent of the controlling interest                                   
09 of a vessel engaged in the fisheries in the United States navigable waters and exclusive                                
10 economic zone be owned by citizens of the United States; and                                                            
11  WHEREAS S. 1221 would correct a loophole in the Commercial Fishing Industry                                          
12 Vessel Anti-Reflagging Act of 1987 that allowed vessels that were rebuilt in foreign shipyards                          
13 to enter the fisheries off Alaska; and                                                                                  
14  WHEREAS S. 1221 would permanently prohibit federal loan guarantees for any vessel                                    
15 intended for use as a fishing vessel that does not meet size, tonnage, horsepower, and                                  
16 domestic ownership criteria; and                                                                                        
17  WHEREAS S. 1221 would effectively promote further Americanization of the fisheries                                   
18 of the United States;                                                                                                   
19  BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports those provisions of S.                                     
20 1221, the "American Fisheries Act," that would reduce the fishing capacity of the Bering Sea                            
21 fishing fleet and promote the Americanization of the fisheries of the United States; and be it                          
22  FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the                                         
23 Congress to pass S. 1221.                                                                                               
24  COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Al Gore, Jr., Vice-President                                
25 of the United States and President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Strom Thurmond,                                    
26 President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the U.S.                              
27 House of Representatives; and to the Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Frank                                      
28 Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of                                  
29 the Alaska delegation in Congress.