HB 294: "An Act relating to electronic monitoring of fishing vessels; and providing for an effective date."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 294 01 "An Act relating to electronic monitoring of fishing vessels; and providing for an 02 effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 16.05.050(a) is amended to read: 05 (a) The commissioner has, but not by way of limitation, the following powers 06 and duties: 07 (1) through the appropriate state agency and under the provisions of 08 AS 36.30 (State Procurement Code), to acquire by gift, purchase, or lease, or other 09 lawful means, land, buildings, water, rights-of-way, or other necessary or proper real 10 or personal property when the acquisition is in the interest of furthering an objective or 11 purpose of the department and the state; 12 (2) under the provisions of AS 36.30, to design and construct 13 hatcheries, pipelines, rearing ponds, fishways, and other projects beneficial for the fish 14 and game resources of the state;
01 (3) to accept money from any person under conditions requiring the 02 use of the money for specific purposes in the furtherance of the protection, 03 rehabilitation, propagation, preservation, or investigation of the fish and game 04 resources of the state or in settlement of claims for damages to fish or game resources; 05 (4) to collect, classify, and disseminate statistics, data and information 06 that, in the commissioner's discretion, will tend to promote the purposes of this title 07 except AS 16.51 and AS 16.52; 08 (5) to take, capture, propagate, transport, buy, sell, or exchange fish or 09 game or eggs for propagating, scientific, public safety, or stocking purposes; 10 (6) under the provisions of AS 36.30, to provide public facilities where 11 necessary or proper to facilitate the taking of fish or game, and to enter into 12 cooperative agreements with any person to effect them; 13 (7) to exercise administrative, budgeting, and fiscal powers; 14 (8) under the provisions of AS 36.30, to construct, operate, supervise, 15 and maintain vessels used by the department; 16 (9) to authorize the holder of an interim-use permit under AS 16.43 to 17 engage on an experimental basis in commercial taking of a fishery resource with 18 vessel, gear, and techniques not presently qualifying for licensing under this chapter in 19 conformity with standards established by the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry 20 Commission; 21 (10) not later than January 31 of each year, to provide to the 22 commissioner of revenue the names of those fish and shellfish species that the 23 commissioner of fish and game designates as developing commercial fish species for 24 that calendar year; a fish or shellfish species is a developing commercial fish species 25 if, within a specified geographical region, 26 (A) the optimum yield from the harvest of the species has not 27 been reached; 28 (B) a substantial portion of the allowable harvest of the species 29 has been allocated to fishing vessels of a foreign nation; or 30 (C) a commercial harvest of the fish species has recently 31 developed;
01 (11) to initiate or conduct research necessary or advisable to carry out 02 the purposes of this title except AS 16.51 and AS 16.52; 03 (12) to enter into cooperative agreements with agencies of the federal 04 government, educational institutions, or other agencies or organizations, when in the 05 public interest, to carry out the purposes of this title except AS 16.51 and AS 16.52; 06 (13) to implement electronic monitoring and [AN] on-board observer 07 programs [PROGRAM] authorized by the Board of Fisheries under 08 AS 16.05.251(a)(13); implementation of an on-board observer program 09 (A) must be as unintrusive to vessel operations as practicable; 10 and 11 (B) must make scheduling and scope of observers' activities as 12 predictable as practicable; 13 (14) to sell fish caught during commercial fisheries test fishing 14 operations; 15 (15) to establish and charge fees equal to the cost of services provided 16 by the department, including provision of public shooting ranges, broodstock and eggs 17 for private nonprofit hatcheries, department publications, and other direct services, and 18 reasonable fees for the use of state facilities managed by the department; fees 19 established under this paragraph for tours of hatchery facilities, commercial use of 20 sport fishing access sites, and for operation of state hatchery facilities by private 21 aquaculture associations are not subject to the cost limit under AS 37.10.050(a); 22 (16) to permit and regulate aquatic farming in the state in a manner 23 that ensures the protection of the state's fish and game resources and improves the 24 economy, health, and well-being of the citizens of the state; 25 (17) to operate state housing and facilities for employees, contractors, 26 and others in support of the department's responsibilities and to charge rent that is 27 consistent with applicable collective bargaining agreements, or, if no collective 28 bargaining agreement is applicable, competitive with market conditions; rent received 29 from tenants shall be deposited in the general fund; 30 (18) to petition the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission, 31 unless the Board of Fisheries disapproves the petition under AS 16.05.251(g), to
01 establish a moratorium on new entrants into commercial fisheries 02 (A) that have experienced recent increases in fishing effort that 03 are beyond a low, sporadic level of effort; 04 (B) that have achieved a level of harvest that may be 05 approaching or exceeding the maximum sustainable level for the fishery; and 06 (C) for which there is insufficient biological and resource 07 management information necessary to promote the conservation and sustained 08 yield management of the fishery; 09 (19) to promote fishing, hunting, and trapping and preserve the 10 heritage of fishing, hunting, and trapping in the state. 11 * Sec. 2. AS 16.05.251(a) is amended to read: 12 (a) The Board of Fisheries may adopt regulations it considers advisable in 13 accordance with AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) for 14 (1) setting apart fish reserve areas, refuges, and sanctuaries in the 15 waters of the state over which it has jurisdiction, subject to the approval of the 16 legislature; 17 (2) establishing open and closed seasons and areas for the taking of 18 fish; if consistent with resource conservation and development goals, the board may 19 adopt regulations establishing restricted seasons and areas necessary for 20 (A) persons 60 years of age and older to participate in sport, 21 personal use, or subsistence fishing; or 22 (B) residents under 18 years of age and nonresidents under 16 23 years of age to participate in sport fishing; 24 (3) setting quotas, bag limits, harvest levels, and sex and size 25 limitations on the taking of fish; 26 (4) establishing the means and methods employed in the pursuit, 27 capture, and transport of fish; 28 (5) establishing marking and identification requirements for means 29 used in pursuit, capture, and transport of fish; 30 (6) classifying as commercial fish, sport fish, guided sport fish, 31 personal use fish, subsistence fish, or predators or other categories essential for
01 regulatory purposes; 02 (7) watershed and habitat improvement, and management, 03 conservation, protection, use, disposal, propagation, and stocking of fish; 04 (8) investigating and determining the extent and effect of disease, 05 predation, and competition among fish in the state, exercising control measures 06 considered necessary to the resources of the state; 07 (9) prohibiting and regulating the live capture, possession, transport, or 08 release of native or exotic fish or their eggs; 09 (10) establishing seasons, areas, quotas, and methods of harvest for 10 aquatic plants; 11 (11) establishing the times and dates during which the issuance of 12 fishing licenses, permits, and registrations and the transfer of permits and registrations 13 between registration areas is allowed; however, this paragraph does not apply to 14 permits issued or transferred under AS 16.43; 15 (12) regulating commercial, sport, guided sport, subsistence, and 16 personal use fishing as needed for the conservation, development, and utilization of 17 fisheries; 18 (13) requiring, in a fishery, electronic monitoring and observers on 19 board fishing vessels, as defined in AS 16.05.475(d), that are registered under the laws 20 of the state, as defined in AS 16.05.475(c); prior to requiring onboard observers, 21 the board shall make [, AFTER MAKING] a written determination that an onboard 22 observer program 23 (A) is the only practical data-gathering or enforcement 24 mechanism for that fishery; 25 (B) will not unduly disrupt the fishery; 26 (C) can be conducted at a reasonable cost; and 27 (D) can be coordinated with observer programs of other 28 agencies, including the National Marine Fisheries Service, North Pacific 29 Fishery Management Council, and the International Pacific Halibut 30 Commission; 31 (14) establishing nonexclusive, exclusive, and superexclusive
01 registration and use areas for regulating commercial fishing; 02 (15) regulating resident or nonresident sport fishermen as needed for 03 the conservation, development, and utilization of fishery resources; 04 (16) requiring unlicensed fishing vessels present in or transiting the 05 waters of the state to report to the department the quantity, species, and origin of fish 06 on board; in this paragraph, "unlicensed fishing vessel" means a fishing vessel that is 07 not licensed under AS 16.05.490 - 16.05.530; 08 (17) promoting fishing and preserving the heritage of fishing in the 09 state. 10 * Sec. 3. AS 16.05.940 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 11 (39) "electronic monitoring" means the collection and tracking of data 12 on board fishing vessels by means of a system comprised of software and electronic 13 components, including video recorders. 14 * Sec. 4. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 15 read: 16 TRANSITION: REGULATIONS. The Board of Fisheries and the Department of Fish 17 and Game may proceed to adopt regulations necessary to implement the changes made by this 18 Act. The regulations take effect under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act), but not 19 before the effective date of the law implemented by the regulations. 20 * Sec. 5. Section 4 of this Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c). 21 * Sec. 6. Except as provided in sec. 5 of this Act, this Act takes effect January 1, 2025.