02/06/2020 11:00 AM House FISHERIES

          HB 218-SALT WATER FISHING: OPERATORS/GUIDES                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
11:17:24 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR STUTES announced that the  final order of business would be                                                               
HOUSE BILL NO. 218, "An Act  relating to salt water sport fishing                                                               
operators and salt water sport  fishing guides; and providing for                                                               
an effective date."                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
11:18:44 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
DOUG  VINCENT-LANG, Commissioner,  Alaska  Department  of Fish  &                                                               
Game  (ADF&G), presented  HB 218  on  behalf of  the House  Rules                                                               
Committee, by  request of  the governor.   He explained  that the                                                               
bill  would   reinstitute  saltwater  sport  fishing   guide  and                                                               
operator licensing standards, saltwater  guide and operator fees,                                                               
and  logbook reporting  requirements for  saltwater guides.   The                                                               
logbook  data  provided  by  saltwater  fishing  guides  provides                                                               
critical information that informs  in-season management.  He said                                                               
that the Board  of Fisheries (BOF) management  plans also benefit                                                               
from  updated  and  complete  information.    The  data  obtained                                                               
through the  logbook reporting requirements  is critical  for the                                                               
ADF&G to  successfully uphold its  obligations under  the Pacific                                                               
Salmon  treaty,  as well  as  the  International Pacific  Halibut                                                               
Commission "obligation  treaties."  He said  the treaties require                                                               
the  state to  issue  logbooks and  collect  data; however,  this                                                               
mandate is not  funded.  He stated that HB  218 would reestablish                                                               
licensees  for saltwater  sport fishing  guide services  to cover                                                               
the  cost  of the  mandated  program.    He explained  that  this                                                               
program  existed  in  the  past,  but  it  was  a  saltwater  and                                                               
freshwater program;  there was a  lot of  controversy surrounding                                                               
the freshwater portion  of the program, which is  not included in                                                               
HB 218.   The program proposed  under HB 218 would  only focus on                                                               
the saltwater portion, which is mandated by treaty obligations.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
11:20:24 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  KOPP asked  Commissioner Vincent-Lang  whether he                                                               
could clarify what the concerns  surrounding the freshwater guide                                                               
licensing  logbooks were,  and why  a different  course had  been                                                               
chosen.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
11:20:45 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER   VINCENT-LANG  replied   that   the  main   concern                                                               
surrounding the  freshwater portion of  the program was  that the                                                               
ADF&G was requiring freshwater guides  across the entire state to                                                               
license with the  state and maintain logbooks  for fisheries that                                                               
didn't  need  the  management  information  in  season.    As  an                                                               
example, he pointed to the  grayling fisheries in Bristol Bay and                                                               
parts of  Interior Alaska.   He explained  that the  ADF&G wasn't                                                               
using  this information  for in-season  management purposes,  and                                                               
there were many questions as  to why it was requiring information                                                               
that  wasn't  being  used  and was  duplicative  of  a  statewide                                                               
harvest survey  being collected.   In the areas  where freshwater                                                               
information is  clearly needed, the  ADF&G has  freshwater survey                                                               
programs in  place and eliminated the  statewide requirements for                                                               
logbooks in those fisheries.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
11:21:40 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  STUTES  asked whether  [the  salt  water portion]  of  the                                                               
previous bill  [program] sunsetted due  to its connection  to the                                                               
freshwater logbooks [program].                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER  VINCENT-LANG replied  that when  the bill's  sunset                                                               
clause came due for renewal,  the freshwater portion of it became                                                               
very controversial; rather  than amending the bill at  the end it                                                               
was decided  to just let the  bill die.  He  explained that there                                                               
wasn't much concern regarding the  saltwater portion of the bill,                                                               
but the freshwater portion "drug the whole thing down."                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
11:22:20 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN  asked how  this bill might  affect private                                                               
boat  owners that  rent  or lease  their  boats for  recreational                                                               
sport fishing.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER  VINCENT-LANG  replied  that   there  is  a  clearly                                                               
defined definition of what a  guide is, which is "accompanying an                                                               
individual";  therefore,  it would  not  affect  the rental  boat                                                               
sector.  In  response to a follow up question,  he clarified that                                                               
this  also  applies  to  lodge   owners  who  have  boat  rentals                                                               
associated through the rental of rooms or additional fees.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN remarked that  he wanted these explanations                                                               
on  the record  for any  business owners,  legislators, or  other                                                               
people who may be listening to  the meeting.  He referred to Cook                                                               
Inlet  and its  "16 tributaries  of  stocks of  concern," and  he                                                               
noted that "we're getting rid of  the weirs in pretty much all of                                                               
the  state for  in-season management  tools."   He asked  how the                                                               
ADF&G  would  use  guide  logbooks  to help  areas  that  do  not                                                               
currently have any in-season management.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER VINCENT-LANG  replied that  the ADF&G would  have an                                                               
accurate counting  of the guided saltwater  harvests through this                                                               
program.   As  an  example,  he said  the  ADF&G  would know  the                                                               
saltwater portion of  the king salmon harvest but  would not know                                                               
the freshwater  portion of  that harvest.   He explained  that to                                                               
the extent that  the ADF&G sees that this  information is needed,                                                               
it  will  investigate  alternative  methods  for  obtaining  that                                                               
information for freshwater fisheries.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
11:25:05 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN asked  Commissioner Vincent-Lang whether he                                                               
thinks the ADF&G will be able to  keep the logbooks up to date so                                                               
that the information can be used for real-time management.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER VINCENT-LANG answered that  the ADF&G already has an                                                               
electronically formatted  program in Southeast  Alaska; currently                                                               
it is  seeing a 5- to  10-percent compliance rate.   He expressed                                                               
that  it is  the  desire  of the  ADF&G  to  make these  logbooks                                                               
electronic  to   the  extent  possible   for  timely   in  season                                                               
management; he noted  that there are some  remote locations where                                                               
this will  not be possible.   He summarized that  the information                                                               
is  currently being  processed, in  season, to  inform management                                                               
decisions for saltwater fisheries.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN asked  how long a delay there  is from when                                                               
the information is recorded to when the ADF&G receives it.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER VINCENT-LANG  replied that it takes  approximately a                                                               
week  and a  half for  the  ADF&G to  receive the  logbooks.   He                                                               
explained  that in  Southeast  Alaska that  time  frame is  short                                                               
enough  to  meet  the treaty  mandate  obligations;  however,  he                                                               
reiterated  that the  ADF&G  is  looking for  ways  to speed  the                                                               
process up through electronic means.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
11:27:20 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR STUTES announced that HB 218 would be held over for                                                                       
further consideration.