Enrolled HR 10: Expressing the strong support of the House of Representatives for the Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center; and urging the University of Alaska to find a solution to keep the Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center operating as a stable resource in the state.
00Enrolled HR 10 01 Expressing the strong support of the House of Representatives for the Kodiak Seafood and 02 Marine Science Center; and urging the University of Alaska to find a solution to keep the 03 Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center operating as a stable resource in the state. 04 _______________ 05 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: 06 WHEREAS the Alaska seafood industry employs more workers than any other 07 private sector industry in the state, employing 60,000 workers annually and providing those 08 workers with $1,600,000,000 in annual earnings; and 09 WHEREAS significant economic benefits accrue to the state directly from the 10 activities of the state's seafood industry; in 2014, the seafood had a harvest value of 11 $1,900,000,000 and a first wholesale value of $4,200,000,000; and 12 WHEREAS the number of seafood industry jobs in the state that require technical and 13 professional skill is increasing, and the state is at a crossroads in its need to diversify and 14 expand its economy; and 15 WHEREAS, in 1974, a group of Alaskans from the coastal regions of the state
01 worked together to develop plans for a Fishery Industrial Technology Center that would 02 provide teaching, research, and services relating to the seafood industry, through the 03 University of Alaska, to citizens and businesses in the state; and 04 WHEREAS, in 1981, the Fishery Industrial Technology Center was established in 05 state statute as part of the University of Alaska; and 06 WHEREAS the statutory duties of the center include creating employment 07 opportunities in the state's fishing industry, providing training to citizens of the state in the 08 harvesting, processing, and conservation of the state's fishery resources, providing research 09 and development activities to enhance the effectiveness and economic viability of the state's 10 fishing industry, and encouraging joint projects between industry and government to use 11 industrial experience and government programs to enhance the productivity of the industry; 12 and 13 WHEREAS teaching, training, research, and technical assistance carried out at the 14 center serves all Alaskans, being primarily delivered by Alaska Sea Grant and fisheries 15 faculty who, in fiscal year 2016, provided workforce training to 265 industry members, 16 educational opportunities to 25 graduate and undergraduate students, and technical assistance 17 to over 70 seafood businesses, tribes, and communities; and 18 WHEREAS the Department of Environmental Conservation has designated the center 19 and its faculty as "process authorities" for the purposes of certifying the safety of the state's 20 seafood; and 21 WHEREAS the state built the Alfred Owen Building in 1991 to be the home for the 22 Fishery Industrial Technology Center using $10,800,000 from the state's settlement of the 23 criminal case originating from the Exxon Valdez oil spill, and, in 2011, the name of the center 24 was changed to the Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center; the facility is 20,000 square 25 feet in size and has five dedicated laboratories, a pilot plant 5,000 square feet in size, three 26 freezers, and numerous offices and conference rooms; and 27 WHEREAS the state built the center on Near Island, on land that the City of Kodiak 28 donated to the University of Alaska; and 29 WHEREAS the activities of the center are guided by a seven-member Fishery 30 Industrial Technology Policy Council, composed of two members who represent the state's 31 seafood processing industry, two members who are commercial fishermen in the state, and
01 three public members who, together, assist the Board of Regents of the University of Alaska 02 in preparing an annual report to the Alaska State Legislature on the center's activities; and 03 WHEREAS the center is a unique and well-positioned hub of knowledge, inquiry, 04 research, and work that serves many industry partners, including the Department of Fish and 05 Game, the Department of Environmental Conservation, the Department of Commerce, 06 Community, and Economic Development, the Department of Natural Resources, the Alaska 07 Fisheries Development Foundation, the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, the North Pacific 08 Fishery Management Council, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Department of 09 Education and Early Development, the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, 10 and other entities; and 11 WHEREAS the Alfred Owen Building is a key asset in delivering the opportunities 12 that the center is statutorily directed to provide, and, in 2016, legislative research services 13 described the building as continuing to be ready to meet the center's statutorily prescribed 14 duties; 15 BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives strongly supports the Kodiak 16 Seafood and Marine Science Center, formerly the Fishery Industrial Technology Center, as a 17 statewide hub for research, training, and technical assistance efforts to support fisheries across 18 the entire state and urges the University of Alaska to find a creative solution in which the 19 university partners with industry, stakeholders, and the community of Kodiak to keep the 20 center operating and stable.