HCR 9: Relating to management of the community development fisheries quota program and fisheries development by the state.
00HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 9 01 Relating to management of the community development fisheries quota program 02 and fisheries development by the state. 03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 WHEREAS the community development quota (CDQ) program is a fisheries 05 development program involving the federal Department of Commerce, the North Pacific 06 Fishery Management Council, the State of Alaska, and 55 rural coastal communities on or 07 near the Bering Sea; and 08 WHEREAS the CDQ program has set aside 7.5 percent of the available Bering Sea 09 pollock quota during 1992 through 1995 for rural coastal communities on or near the Bering 10 Sea; and 11 WHEREAS the amount of pollock available for harvest under the CDQ program is 12 more than 100,000 metric tons per year and has an estimated valued of $20,000,000; and 13 WHEREAS the CDQ program allocates the available harvest of pollock among 14 eligible communities, local fishermen's organizations, and local economic development
01 organizations who in turn reinvest the proceeds from the harvest and processing of the pollock 02 in additional local fisheries development projects; and 03 WHEREAS the CDQ program may be expanded to include halibut, sablefish (black 04 cod), Pacific cod, and crab; and 05 WHEREAS the CDQ program is important to the economic development of rural 06 coastal communities on or near the Bering Sea; and 07 WHEREAS the operation of the CDQ program is governed by federal and state 08 regulations that prescribe the goals and objectives of the program, the communities and other 09 groups that are eligible to participate in the program, application and review procedures, quota 10 allocation procedures, and reporting and performance requirements; and 11 WHEREAS the State of Alaska plays a significant role in the operation of the CDQ 12 program because the Governor is responsible for requesting, accepting, and reviewing 13 proposals from eligible communities and organizations that seek a community development 14 quota allocation and for making recommendations to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce as to 15 which applicants should receive a quota allocation and as to how much each applicant should 16 receive; the Secretary of Commerce accepted and approved all recommendations made by 17 Governor Hickel for allocation of the 1992 pollock community development quota; and 18 WHEREAS responsibility for state participation in the CDQ program may be 19 delegated to either the Department of Fish and Game, the Department of Commerce and 20 Economic Development, or the Department of Community and Regional Affairs; and 21 WHEREAS the CDQ program needs strong leadership and support from the State of 22 Alaska to be successful; and 23 WHEREAS the State of Alaska does not have a fisheries development policy; 24 BE IT RESOLVED by the Alaska State Legislature that the Governor is respectfully 25 requested to continue support for the community development quota program and related 26 fisheries development programs by 27 (1) designating a single individual to direct the state's participation in the CDQ 28 program, to serve as a technical advisor to and liaison with CDQ program participants, and 29 to maintain communication with the federal Department of Commerce and the North Pacific 30 Fishery Management Council; 31 (2) fairly and firmly applying state and federal CDQ program regulations to
01 ensure accomplishment of the economic development objectives of the program and to ensure 02 continued support for the program among participants and state and federal agencies; 03 (3) assuring that state residents have access to the fisheries resources in or off 04 Alaska and that residents have the opportunity to engage in commercial fishing activities in 05 the area where they live; and 06 (4) formulation and adoption of a state fisheries development policy to guide 07 the long-range development of the state's fisheries resources and to take maximum advantage 08 of the short-term fisheries development opportunities currently available and to minimize the 09 effect of any short-term dislocations in the fishing industry of the state.