00Enrolled HJR 15                                                                                                         
01 Relating to open ocean aquaculture in the federal exclusive economic zone.                                              
02                                         _______________                                                                 
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                             
04      WHEREAS Alaska wild fish stocks are healthy and sustainable, in large part due to a                              
05 strong gene pool and Alaska's history of sound fisheries management, clean water, and habitat                           
06 protection; and                                                                                                         
07      WHEREAS Alaska commercial, subsistence, and recreational fisheries are managed                                   
08 to achieve the state's constitutional mandate of sustained yield; and                                                   
09      WHEREAS the State of Alaska enacted legislation in 1990 to prohibit finfish farming                              
10 in state waters; and                                                                                                    
11      WHEREAS there are numerous outstanding issues and concerns regarding the social,                                 
12 economic, health, and environmental consequences of farmed fish, both in state and federal                              
13 waters; and                                                                                                             
14      WHEREAS open net cage fish farming poses persistent risks to the health of the                                   
15 marine resources of Alaska; and                                                                                         
16      WHEREAS there are patents pending to cultivate and introduce genetically modified                                
17 fish into open waters, which will pose a direct threat to wild stock fisheries; and                                     

01      WHEREAS salmon farming has had severe economic impacts on coastal                                                
02 communities in Alaska as demonstrated by significantly lower prices for wild salmon                                     
03 fisheries products; and                                                                                                 
04      WHEREAS Alaska coastal communities and fishing families rely on the health of                                    
05 wild fish stocks for a strong economy; and                                                                              
06      WHEREAS global markets increasingly demand natural seafood products harvested                                    
07 sustainably from a clean environment; and                                                                               
08      WHEREAS the seafood industry in Alaska has developed strong name recognition in                                  
09 the marketplace for wild, natural, and healthy seafood products; and                                                    
10      WHEREAS successful seafood marketing depends on product differentiation, and                                     
11 Alaska's untarnished name is its greatest asset in the global market; and                                               
12      WHEREAS the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is promoting                                         
13 legislation to permit open ocean aquaculture in federal waters from three to 200 miles                                  
14 offshore of the states; and                                                                                             
15      WHEREAS the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act                                             
16 provides for input from fishermen and coastal communities through regional fishery                                      
17 management councils; and                                                                                                
18      WHEREAS the proponents of federal open ocean aquaculture and members of the                                      
19 ocean aquaculture industry have not satisfactorily demonstrated that this activity will not be                          
20 detrimental to the ocean resources and to the economy of Alaska coastal communities; and                                
21      WHEREAS Governor Frank H. Murkowski has proposed a five-year moratorium on                                       
22 all permitting, leasing, or development of ocean pen-reared shellfish and finfish in the federal                        
23 exclusive economic zone off Alaska;                                                                                     
24      BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature is committed to ensuring that                                   
25 open ocean aquaculture does no harm to ecosystem integrity, to existing wild fisheries, or to                           
26 the social and economic well-being of Alaska coastal communities; and be it                                             
27      FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature opposes open ocean                                            
28 aquaculture for finfish and predatory shellfish; and be it                                                              
29      FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully urges                                            
30 Congress to prohibit the issuance of any license to permit an aquaculture facility that imports,                        
31 exports, possesses, cultivates, sells, or otherwise handles genetically modified fish in the                            

01 federal exclusive economic zone or has access to open waters; and be it                                                 
02      FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports the regional                                         
03 fishery management councils under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and                                         
04 Management Act and respectfully requests that the councils be granted authority over any                                
05 proposals regarding open ocean aquaculture in federal waters; and be it                                                 
06      FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the                                     
07 United States Congress to require any federal proposal to authorize open ocean aquaculture in                           
08 the federal exclusive economic zone to undergo a legislative environmental impact statement,                            
09 as required by the National Environmental Policy Act.                                                                   
10      COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable George W. Bush, President                               
11 of the United States; the Honorable Ted Stevens, President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate                               
12 and member of the Alaska delegation in Congress; the Honorable J. Dennis Hastert, Speaker                               
13 of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable Carlos Gutierrez, United States Secretary                           
14 of Commerce; and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senator, and the Honorable Don                                      
15 Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.