00HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 25                                                                                           
01 Relating to a ban on trawling in the eastern Gulf of Alaska.                                                            
02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
03  WHEREAS the eastern Gulf of Alaska has been a significant hook and line fishing                                        
04 area for almost 100 years and most of the high value fisheries in the area are fully utilized by                        
05 the hook and line fishing fleet; and                                                                                    
06  WHEREAS the level of trawl fishing effort in the eastern Gulf of Alaska is expected                                    
07 to exert undue fishing pressure on fish stocks in the area and displace traditional hook and line                       
08 fisheries; and                                                                                                          
09  WHEREAS foreign trawl fishing in the Gulf of Alaska resulted in depressed                                              
10 populations of several species of rockfish; and                                                                         
11  WHEREAS federal fishing regulations require that all fisheries that take a species of                                  
12 fish must be closed when the allowable biological catch for the species is reached; and                                 
13  WHEREAS the trawl fishery in the eastern Gulf of Alaska can significantly disrupt                                      
14 the traditional fisheries on which 3,000 Southeast Alaska hook and line fishermen depend; and                           

01  WHEREAS the narrowness of the continental shelf and continental slope in the eastern                                   
02 Gulf of Alaska concentrates trawl fishing effort in a small area and as a result prevents                               
03 recovery of trawl fishing areas and may permanently impoverish the ecosystem of the eastern                             
04 Gulf of Alaska; and                                                                                                     
05  WHEREAS the Southeast Alaska area contains limited smooth bottom areas suitable                                        
06 for trawls, but many rocky areas that support an abundant, diverse, but fragile deep water                              
07 habitat; and                                                                                                            
08  WHEREAS the impact of trawl roller gear and trawl doors could significantly affect                                     
09 corals and associated hard bottom species; and                                                                          
10  WHEREAS only by closing the eastern Gulf of Alaska east of 140 degrees west                                            
11 longitude to trawl fishing will the local marine resources be protected;                                                
12  BE IT RESOLVED by the Alaska State Legislature that the United States Secretary                                        
13 of Commerce is respectfully requested to immediately implement emergency and permanent                                  
14 regulations closing the eastern Gulf of Alaska east of 140 degrees west longitude to pelagic                            
15 and bottom trawling.                                                                                                    
16  COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Ron Brown, Secretary, U.S.                                    
17 Department of Commerce; and to the Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Frank                                        
18 Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of                                  
19 the Alaska delegation in Congress.