00CS FOR HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 24(FSH)                                                                               
01 Relating to reduction of wanton waste in North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea                                             
02 fisheries.                                                                                                              
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04  WHEREAS more fish were discarded in the federally managed fisheries of the North                                       
05 Pacific Ocean than were landed by American fishermen in the North Atlantic Ocean in 1992;                               
06 and                                                                                                                     
07  WHEREAS, in 1994, 25,881,596 kilograms of halibut and 1,866,272 kilograms of                                           
08 herring were discarded by fisheries in the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea; and                                  
09  WHEREAS, in 1994, 15,459,253 crab were discarded by fisheries in the North Pacific                                     
10 Ocean and the Bering Sea; and                                                                                           
11  WHEREAS, in 1994, 195,609 salmon were harvested in groundfish fisheries of the                                         
12 North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea; and                                                                             
13  WHEREAS these discarded herring, crab, and salmon are resources managed by the                                         
14 State of Alaska that were intercepted in offshore federal waters; and                                                   

01  WHEREAS these resources are the economic and cultural lifeblood for many Alaskans                                      
02 who depend on the sea for their livelihoods and subsistence; and                                                        
03  WHEREAS marine wildlife species in Alaska marine waters that depend on fish for                                        
04 food are faced with declining populations and a potential listing as endangered species; and                            
05  WHEREAS this continued wanton waste undermines any long-term management                                                
06 strategy for sustained commercial, subsistence, and recreational fisheries, and places the rural                        
07 communities of Alaska at risk; and                                                                                      
08  WHEREAS efforts to implement severe penalties against vessels responsible for high                                     
09 bycatch and discard rates have failed; and                                                                              
10  WHEREAS minimizing the catch of undersized fish and reducing wanton waste will                                         
11 conserve fisheries resources for present and future generations of subsistence users,                                   
12 commercial and recreational fishermen, seafood industries, coastal communities, consumers,                              
13 and the nation; and                                                                                                     
14  WHEREAS fisheries can technically or operationally reduce waste and the incidental                                     
15 taking of nontarget species if given economic incentives or if appropriate regulatory measures                          
16 are applied;                                                                                                            
17  BE IT RESOLVED by the Alaska State Legislature that the wanton waste now                                               
18 occurring in federal fisheries of the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea is of utmost                               
19 ecological, social, and economical importance; and be it                                                                
20  FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully urges the                                              
21 Congress to amend the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act, or to enact                                     
22 other legislation, encompassing a broad range of measures to reduce wanton waste in North                               
23 Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea fisheries, including harvest priority incentives for clean fishing                         
24 practices and other management tools.                                                                                   
25  COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Al Gore, Jr., Vice-President                                  
26 of the United States and President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Newt Gingrich, Speaker                             
27 of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable Strom Thurmond, President Pro Tempore                               
28 of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Bob Dole, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the                                     
29 Honorable Ron Brown, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce; the Honorable                                        
30 Richard B. Lauber, chair of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council; and to the                                    
31 Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the                                         

01 Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.