00HOUSE BILL NO. 251                                                                                                      
01 "An Act relating to the management and allocation of fishery resources."                                                
02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
03    * Section 1.  AS 16.05.251(a) is amended to read:                                                                    
04  (a)  The Board of Fisheries may adopt regulations under [IT CONSIDERS                                               
05 ADVISABLE IN ACCORDANCE WITH] AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act),                                                 
06 that the board determines are consistent with the policy set out in AS 16.05.725                                        
07 and are necessary, for                                                                                                 
08   (1)  setting apart fish reserve areas, refuges, and sanctuaries in the                                               
09 waters of the state over which it has jurisdiction, subject to the approval of the                                      
10 legislature;                                                                                                            
11   (2)  establishing open and closed seasons and areas for the taking of                                                
12 fish; if consistent with resource conservation and development goals, the board may                                     
13 adopt regulations establishing restricted seasons and areas necessary for persons 60                                    
14 years of age and older to participate in sport, personal use, or subsistence fishing;                                   

01   (3)  setting quotas, bag limits, harvest levels, and sex and size                                                    
02 limitations on the taking of fish;                                                                                      
03   (4)  establishing the means and methods employed in the pursuit,                                                     
04 capture, and transport of fish;                                                                                         
05   (5)  establishing marking and identification requirements for means used                                             
06 in pursuit, capture, and transport of fish;                                                                             
07   (6)  classifying as commercial fish, sport fish, guided sport fish,                                                  
08 personal use fish, subsistence fish, or predators or other categories essential for                                     
09 regulatory purposes;                                                                                                    
10   (7)  watershed and habitat improvement, and management, conservation,                                                
11 protection, use, disposal, propagation, and stocking of fish;                                                           
12   (8)  investigating and determining the extent and effect of disease,                                                 
13 predation, and competition among fish in the state, exercising control measures                                         
14 considered necessary to the resources of the state;                                                                     
15   (9)  prohibiting and regulating the live capture, possession, transport, or                                          
16 release of native or exotic fish or their eggs;                                                                         
17   (10)  establishing seasons, areas, quotas, and methods of harvest for                                                
18 aquatic plants;                                                                                                         
19   (11)  establishing the times and dates during which the issuance of                                                  
20 fishing licenses, permits, and registrations and the transfer of permits and registrations                              
21 between registration areas is allowed; however, this paragraph does not apply to                                        
22 permits issued or transferred under AS 16.43;                                                                           
23   (12)  regulating commercial, sport, guided sport, subsistence, and                                                   
24 personal use fishing as needed for the conservation, development, and utilization of                                    
25 fisheries;                                                                                                              
26   (13)  requiring, in a fishery, observers on board fishing vessels, as                                                
27 defined in AS 16.05.475(d), that are registered under the laws of the state, as defined                                 
28 in AS 16.05.475(c), after making a written determination that an on-board observer                                      
29 program                                                                                                                 
30   (A)  is the only practical data-gathering or enforcement                                                            
31 mechanism for that fishery;                                                                                             

01   (B)  will not unduly disrupt the fishery;                                                                           
02   (C)  can be conducted at a reasonable cost; and                                                                     
03   (D)  can be coordinated with observer programs of other                                                             
04 agencies, including the National Marine Fisheries Service, North Pacific                                                
05 Fishery Management Council, and the International Pacific Halibut                                                       
06 Commission;                                                                                                             
07   (14)  establishing nonexclusive, exclusive, and superexclusive                                                       
08 registration and use areas for regulating commercial fishing;                                                           
09   (15)  regulating resident or nonresident sport fishermen as needed for                                               
10 the conservation, development, and utilization of fishery resources.                                                    
11    * Sec. 2.  AS 16.05 is amended by adding a new section to article 5 to read:                                         
12  Sec. 16.05.725.  STATE FISHERIES MANAGEMENT POLICY.  (a)  It is the                                                   
13 policy of the State of Alaska to utilize, develop, and conserve the fisheries resources                                 
14 of the state for the maximum benefit and common use of the people of the state                                          
15 through management of fisheries resources consistent with the sustained yield principle                                 
16 and allocation of fisheries resources in a manner that has the least adverse effect on                                  
17 the people of the state.                                                                                                
18  (b)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, this policy shall govern the                                         
19 actions of the Board of Fisheries, the commissioner, and the department.