SCS CSHJR 38(RLS) AM S: Relating to reauthorization of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
00SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 38(RLS) am S 01 Relating to reauthorization of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management 02 Act. 03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 WHEREAS the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Act) 05 established a fishery conservation zone, now known as the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), 06 out to 200 miles from the shoreline of Alaska and the other states to protect, conserve, and 07 manage the extensive fisheries resources of the continental shelf; and 08 WHEREAS coastal communities of Alaska lie adjacent to, and depend upon, the 09 fishery resources of the federally managed EEZ in the Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska, and North 10 Pacific Ocean off Alaska; and 11 WHEREAS the Act provides for the management of the fishery resources of the EEZ 12 through regional fishery management councils and by the National Marine Fisheries Service; 13 and 14 WHEREAS, in October 1995, the United States House of Representatives
01 overwhelmingly passed H.R. 39, Congressman Don Young's bill to reauthorize the Act, with 02 strong conservation provisions and language protecting Alaska's family fishing operations, and 03 the United States Senate is currently considering the reauthorization of the Act; and 04 WHEREAS several issues of national and regional importance are being considered 05 as part of the reauthorization process for the Act; 06 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the 07 Congress to reauthorize the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act with the 08 following provisions to 09 (1) authorize the regional fishery management councils to minimize the bycatch 10 of unwanted species, sizes, or sexes of fishery resources and to promote full utilization of 11 fishery resources; 12 (2) prohibit regional fishery management councils from setting fishing levels 13 above the sustainable yield, and require the councils to establish measurable and objective 14 criteria to determine what constitutes overfishing in a fishery while also establishing rebuilding 15 programs for a fishery that meets the criteria for overfishing; 16 (3) request that the National Marine Fisheries Service work with the regional 17 fishery management councils on conservation and management measures to protect essential 18 fisheries habitat from adverse effects; 19 (4) establish reasonable restrictions on direct, personal, and financial conflicts 20 of interest by members of the regional fishery management councils, provided that those 21 restrictions recognize that minor insignificant conflicts are inevitable and acceptable given the 22 nature of the membership of the regional fishery management councils; 23 (5) establish a moratorium, for the duration of this reauthorization of the Act, 24 upon the establishment and implementation of individual fishery quota systems for federally 25 managed fisheries and a prohibition against the development of a new individual fishery quota 26 system for the duration of this reauthorization of the Act; 27 (6) provide a portion of the annual harvest in a fishery subject to individual 28 fishery quotas for entry level fishermen or small vessel owners who do not hold individual 29 fishery quotas; 30 (7) require a portion of any fees or rents collected from federally managed 31 fisheries be distributed to the adjacent coastal states for fishery conservation and management
01 purposes; 02 (8) require that any federal fee system for federally managed fisheries allow 03 a deduction for other local, state, and federal fishing fees and taxes that are paid by fishermen; 04 (9) amend 16 U.S.C. 1856 to authorize the extension of state jurisdiction into 05 the exclusive economic zone when a North Pacific Fishery Management Council fishery 06 management plan does not exist; and 07 (10) authorize the establishment and implementation of community 08 development quota or community protection set-aside programs for the Bering Sea and 09 Aleutian Islands areas to aid fishery development and recognize the economic dependence of 10 coastal communities upon fishing; and be it 11 FURTHER RESOLVED by the Alaska State Legislature that fees, taxes, or royalties 12 levied on the harvesting or processing of fishery resources in the exclusive economic zone 13 must recognize and give credit for other federal, state, and local fees, taxes, and royalties also 14 levied on those same activities and that revenue derived from fees, taxes, or royalties levied 15 on the harvesting or processing of fishery resources in the exclusive economic zone be utilized 16 for the management, enforcement, research, and administration of fishery programs in the 17 areas where the revenue was derived; and be it 18 FURTHER RESOLVED by the Alaska State Legislature that the National Marine 19 Fisheries Service should receive the funding necessary to provide the regional fishery 20 management councils with sufficient biological information to implement controls against 21 overfishing and with the research needed to understand and manage fishery resources; and be 22 it 23 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully opposes any 24 proposal to alter the established composition of the North Pacific Fishery Management 25 Council. 26 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Frank Murkowski, Chair, 27 United States Senate, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources; the Honorable Don 28 Young, Chair, United States House of Representatives, Committee on Resources; and to the 29 Honorable Ted Stevens, Chair, United States Senate Subcommittee on Oceans and Fisheries 30 of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.