SCR 10: Establishing the Joint Legislative Seafood Industry Task Force.
00 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 10 01 Establishing the Joint Legislative Seafood Industry Task Force. 02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03 WHEREAS the seafood industry is one of the cornerstones of the state's economy, 04 supporting tens of thousands of jobs, and seafood has a multi-billion dollar economic impact 05 in the state; and 06 WHEREAS the considerable changes in the global salmon market in recent years 07 have placed the state's seafood industry in economic peril, threatening not only the main 08 engine of the rural economies of the state but also a significant contributor to urban 09 economies and is causing harmful revenue losses to the state's general fund and to municipal 10 budgets; and 11 WHEREAS decreased consumer demand has resulted in the volume of United States 12 seafood retail sales falling below benchmarks established before the COVID-19 pandemic, 13 reversing substantial gains earned in 2020 and 2021; and 14 WHEREAS, in 2023, global harvest, including the state's harvest and competing 15 Russian harvest, increased supply for many key state seafood products; and 16 WHEREAS preliminary data show that prices paid to both fishermen and processors
01 in calendar year 2023 were historically low for many key state seafood species; and 02 WHEREAS state seafood harvesters are in danger of being without markets and being 03 forced into economic distress; and 04 WHEREAS numerous seafood processing facilities have recently stopped operations 05 or plan to do so before the 2024 fishing season because of market factors and difficulty in 06 obtaining operating loans; and 07 WHEREAS seafood is a renewable resource that is becoming increasingly unique in 08 the global market and can provide immeasurable economic benefit to this state in perpetuity; 09 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature establishes the Joint Legislative 10 Seafood Industry Task Force to address those elements of the crisis in the state seafood 11 industry that can be solved through governmental policy and action on the part of the 12 industry; and be it 13 FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall develop a long-term vision for the 14 state seafood industry as a critical element of the state's economic future; and be it 15 FURTHER RESOLVED that the duties of the task force include recommending 16 (1) legislative and administrative means by which government can assist the 17 state's seafood industry in response to changing economics; 18 (2) public policy options that account for effects on communities that are 19 severely affected by the crisis in the state's seafood industry; 20 (3) improvements for the coordination of the harvesting, processing, and 21 marketing of seafood; 22 (4) new seafood product development; 23 (5) improvements to the marketing efforts of the state seafood industry; 24 (6) methods to improve the quality of the state's seafood products; 25 (7) a long-term strategic plan for the state's seafood industry; and be it 26 FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of the task force shall conduct the 27 business of the task force with a statewide vision of the crisis in the state's seafood industry 28 and the need to find solutions to the crisis; and be it 29 FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall be composed of seven members, as 30 follows: 31 (1) four members of the legislature, appointed as follows:
01 (A) two members from the senate appointed by the president of the 02 senate; 03 (B) two members from the house of representatives appointed by the 04 speaker of the house of representatives; 05 (2) two public members who are representatives of the United Fishermen of 06 Alaska or the Pacific Seafood Processors Association, appointed jointly by the president of 07 the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives; and 08 (3) the commissioner of fish and game or the commissioner's designee; and be 09 it 10 FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of the task force shall be appointed to 11 represent the statewide seafood industry as a whole and not just a particular region or 12 harvesting sector of the industry; and be it 13 FURTHER RESOLVED that a vacancy on the task force shall be filled in the same 14 manner as the original appointment; and be it 15 FURTHER RESOLVED that the president of the senate and the speaker of the house 16 of representatives shall jointly appoint a legislative member of the task force as chair of the 17 task force; staff of the legislator who chairs the task force may provide administrative and 18 other support to the task force; and be it 19 FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall meet at the call of the chair; and be 20 it 21 FURTHER RESOLVED that a majority of the task force constitutes a quorum; and 22 be it 23 FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of the legislature serving on the task 24 force are entitled to per diem and travel expenses and other members serving on the task force 25 may seek reimbursement for per diem and travel expenses from the member's respective 26 organization; and be it 27 FURTHER RESOLVED that members of the task force shall meet virtually or use 28 other electronic means to reduce task force expenses to the fullest extent practicable; and be it 29 FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall submit a report of its findings and 30 recommendations to the legislature by January 21, 2025, and may make any interim reports it 31 considers advisable; and be it
01 FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is terminated at 11:59 p.m. on 02 February 1, 2025.