02/21/2013 10:00 AM House FISHERIES

                      HB 110-BARBED HOOKS                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
10:40:23 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SEATON announced that the  final order of business would be                                                               
HOUSE BILL NO.  110, "An Act prohibiting the use  of barbed hooks                                                               
in certain freshwater areas."                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
10:40:56 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
DOUG  DUNCAN, Staff,  Representative  Paul  Seaton, Alaska  State                                                               
Legislature,  introduced HB  110, paraphrasing  from the  sponsor                                                               
statement, which read [original punctuation provided]:                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
     Recently, many runs of  Chinook salmon have experienced                                                                    
     poor returns.  Fishery  Disaster Declarations have been                                                                    
     made for the Yukon,  Kuskokwim, and Cook Inlet regions.                                                                    
     People  who  depend  on these  king  salmon  for  their                                                                    
     economic,  recreational,  and cultural  livelihood  are                                                                    
     experiencing great hardship due to this low abundance.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     Sustainability  is  critically important  and  measures                                                                    
     should be adopted that help  protect Chinook salmon and                                                                    
     similar  vulnerable  species  while  still  maintaining                                                                    
     fishing  opportunities.   One of  the best  ways to  do                                                                    
     this  is  to  utilize  fishing gear  that  reduces  the                                                                    
     mortality to  species of  concern while  still allowing                                                                    
     the utilization of healthy stocks.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
     The  use of  barbless  hooks is  proven  to reduce  the                                                                    
     mortality  of released  fish.   Studies by  the Pacific                                                                    
     Salmon  Commission Technical  Committee concluded  that                                                                    
     barbless  hook  usage  reduced  mortality  by  3.5%  in                                                                    
     mature fish.   A barbless hook is faster  to remove and                                                                    
     results  in less  trauma  to the  fish.   This  reduces                                                                    
     handling and  increases the chance a  fish will survive                                                                    
     to reproduce.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
     Some fly  fishermen currently file the  barbs off their                                                                    
     hooks  to  allow  a  less  damaging  release  of  fish.                                                                    
     Additionally,  Washington and  Oregon prohibit  the use                                                                    
     of  barbed hooks  while  Chinook  fishing because  wild                                                                    
     stock fish must be released  while hatchery fish can be                                                                    
     retained.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
     HB  110 would  prohibit  the use  of  barbed hooks  for                                                                    
     freshwater   stocks   of   fish  where   retention   is                                                                    
     prohibited, that is in a catch and release fishery.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
MR. DUNCAN emphasized  that stocks can be  protected through less                                                               
mortality due  to the barbless  hook with less handling  and hook                                                               
damage.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  SEATON pointed  out  the different  approach  that HB  110                                                               
takes versus  the laws  adopted by  Washington State  and Oregon,                                                               
where wild stocks  are required to be released  and hatchery fish                                                               
may be  retained, and  the mortality rate  was studied  to ensure                                                               
that the  program was  having the intended  effect.   The Alaskan                                                               
studies indicate that catch and  release mortality for Chinook is                                                               
about  eight  percent; reducing  this  number  to three  or  four                                                               
percent would be significant.  The  intent of HB 110 is to reduce                                                               
catch  and  release  mortality in  Alaska's  existing  catch  and                                                               
release fisheries, without creating new regulatory areas.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
10:45:20 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  GATTIS  questioned  whether  there  would  be  an                                                               
impact on safety enforcement officers,  and how it relates to the                                                               
fiscal note.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  SEATON announced  that HB  110 would  be held  for further                                                               
consideration at the committee meeting scheduled for 2/26/12.