00             CS FOR HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 13(FSH)                                                             
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 an individual nominated by an Alaska Native organization that represents                                    
04 rural subsistence users.                                                                                                
05 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
06       WHEREAS the North Pacific Fishery Management Council is a regional council                                      
07 established in 1976 under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act                                  
08 to oversee management of the region's fisheries; and                                                                    
09       WHEREAS five members of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council are                                        
10 nominated by the governor and approved by the United States Secretary of Commerce; and                                  
11       WHEREAS the North Pacific Fishery Management Council possesses primary                                          
12 responsibility for management of fish in the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea, and Aleutian Islands;                          
13 and                                                                                                                     
14       WHEREAS the allocation of fish in those waters directly affects the quantity of fish                            
15 available for harvest by sport fish licensees and subsistence users; and                                                

01       WHEREAS the Pacific Fishery Management Council, whose jurisdiction consists of                                  
02 the exclusive economic zone off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California, includes a                            
03 voting member nominated by a federally recognized Native American tribe; and                                            
04       WHEREAS Alaska's Native peoples have the right under federal law to take, for                                   
05 subsistence purposes, fur seals and other marine mammals, sea birds and other migratory                                 
06 waterfowl, and certain species listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, all of which                            
07 are affected by decisions made by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, yet the                                 
08 federally recognized tribal governments of those peoples are not represented on the council;                            
09 and                                                                                                                     
10       WHEREAS the Constitution of the State of Alaska requires the state's natural                                    
11 resources to be managed for the maximum benefit of all of the people of the state; and                                  
12       WHEREAS the Constitution of the State of Alaska states that, wherever occurring in                              
13 their natural state, fish are reserved to the people for common use and shall be maintained on                          
14 the sustained yield principle; and                                                                                      
15       WHEREAS subsistence, as the customary and traditional use of fish for direct                                    
16 personal and family consumption in amounts reasonably necessary for personal or family                                  
17 sustenance, is a high priority among consumptive uses in the state, where an estimated 95                               
18 percent of rural households consume fish caught for subsistence; and                                                    
19       WHEREAS sport fishing contributes significantly to the state's tourism industry and                             
20 general economy; and                                                                                                    
21       WHEREAS 458,888 sport fishing licenses were issued in the state in 2010; and                                    
22       WHEREAS, in a state that is home to 3,000 rivers, 3,000,000 lakes, and 6,640 miles                              
23 of coastline, protecting opportunities for sport fishers and subsistence users is vital;                                
24       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the                                      
25 governor to designate one seat on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council for a sport                              
26 fish licensee and one seat on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council for an individual                            
27 nominated by an Alaska Native organization that represents rural subsistence users.