00                   HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 13                                                                   
01 Requesting the governor to designate one seat on the North Pacific Fishery Management                                   
02 Council for a sport fish licensee and one seat on the North Pacific Fishery Management                                  
03 Council for a subsistence user.                                                                                         
04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
05       WHEREAS the North Pacific Fishery Management Council is a regional council                                      
06 established in 1976 under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act                                  
07 to oversee management of the region's fisheries; and                                                                    
08       WHEREAS five members of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council are                                        
09 nominated by the governor and approved by the United States Secretary of Commerce; and                                  
10       WHEREAS the North Pacific Fishery Management Council possesses primary                                          
11 responsibility for management of fish in the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea, and Aleutian Islands;                          
12 and                                                                                                                     
13       WHEREAS the allocation of fish in those waters directly affects the quantity of fish                            
14 available for harvest by sport fish licensees and subsistence users; and                                                
15       WHEREAS the Constitution of the State of Alaska requires the state's natural                                    

01 resources to be managed for the maximum benefit of all of the people of the state; and                                  
02       WHEREAS the Constitution of the State of Alaska states that, wherever occurring in                              
03 their natural state, fish are reserved to the people for common use and shall be maintained on                          
04 the sustained yield principle; and                                                                                      
05       WHEREAS subsistence, as the customary and traditional use of fish for direct                                    
06 personal and family consumption in amounts reasonably necessary for personal or family                                  
07 sustenance, is a high priority among consumptive uses in the state, where an estimated 95                               
08 percent of rural households consume fish caught for subsistence; and                                                    
09       WHEREAS sport fishing contributes significantly to the state's tourism industry and                             
10 general economy; and                                                                                                    
11       WHEREAS 458,888 sport fishing licenses were issued in the state in 2010; and                                    
12       WHEREAS, in a state that is home to 3,000 rivers, 3,000,000 lakes, and 6,640 miles                              
13 of coastline, protecting opportunities for sport fishers and subsistence users is vital;                                
14       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the                                      
15 governor to designate one seat on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council for a sport                              
16 fish licensee and one seat on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council for a subsistence                            
17 user.