03/13/2020 01:00 PM House RESOURCES

          HB 218-SALT WATER FISHING: OPERATORS/GUIDES                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
2:52:41 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR TARR announced  the final order of business  would be CS                                                               
FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 218(FSH),"An  Act relating to salt water sport                                                               
fishing  operators  and  salt water  sport  fishing  guides;  and                                                               
providing  for an  effective date."   [Before  the committee  was                                                               
CSHB 218(FSH).]                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
2:53:11 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DOUG  VINCENT-LANG, Commissioner,  Alaska  Department  of Fish  &                                                               
Game  (ADF&G), informed  the committee  the  Sport Fish  Business                                                               
Owner/Guide License was passed [in  the Twenty-third Alaska State                                                               
Legislature] and  remained in  effect through  12/31/14.   In the                                                               
Twenty-Ninth Alaska  State Legislature, salt water  licenses were                                                               
reinstated with  a 2018 sunset  and ADF&G seeks to  establish the                                                               
licenses in statute in perpetuity.   License fees are used to pay                                                               
for collecting logbook  data - which has been  collected by ADF&G                                                               
from salt water  sportfishing businesses and guides  since 1998 -                                                               
that  is critical  to upholding  the state's  obligations to  the                                                               
Pacific  Salmon  Treaty  and the  International  Pacific  Halibut                                                               
Commission.   The  data is  also  provided to  the North  Pacific                                                               
Fishery  Management   Council  for  the  management   of  federal                                                               
fisheries  in order  to avoid  duplicative reporting  mechanisms,                                                               
which are  an undue burden on  the charter fishing industry.   In                                                               
addition, logbook  data is  utilized by  the Board  of Fisheries,                                                               
ADF&G.  The original version  of the bill included freshwater and                                                               
salt   water  components;   however,  due   to  opposition   from                                                               
freshwater guides, the freshwater  component was removed from the                                                               
bill.    Thus,  [CSHB  218(FSH)]  addresses  the  state's  treaty                                                               
obligations  and the  critical need  for the  collection of  salt                                                               
water data  to manage salt  water fisheries, which would  be paid                                                               
for by the licensing program.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
2:56:26 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
RACHAEL HANKE, Legislative Liaison, Office of the Commissioner,                                                                 
Alaska Department of Fish & Game, paraphrased from the following                                                                
sectional analysis [original punctuation provided]:                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
     Sectional Analysis HB 218:                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
     Salt Water Guide Licensing (version A)                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     Section  1  Establishes   license  fees  for  saltwater                                                                    
     guides and operators.                                                                                                      
      ? Guide license - $200                                                                                                    
      ? Operator license - $400                                                                                                 
      ? Operator and guide combined license - $400                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
     Section 2 Adds new Article to AS 16.40 that                                                                                
      ? AS  16.40.262   provides  stipulations for  the salt                                                                    
     water operator license and defines the license type;                                                                       
      ? AS  16.40.272   provides  stipulations for  the salt                                                                    
     water  guides and  combined  license  and defines  both                                                                    
     license types;                                                                                                             
      ?  AS 16.40.282    establishes  reporting requirements                                                                    
     for salt water guides and operators;                                                                                       
      ? AS 16.40.292    establishes penalties for violations                                                                    
     the chapter; and                                                                                                           
      ?  AS 16.40.301    defines  "salt water  sport fishing                                                                    
     guide" and "salt water sport fishing guide services".                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     Section  3 Adds  salt water  sportfishing operator  and                                                                    
     guide  license  to  AS  25.27.244(s)(2)  which  defines                                                                    
     "license".                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
     Section 4 Effective date of January 1, 2021.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR TARR surmised the effective date is on a calendar year                                                                 
basis because the bill would not be implemented in the upcoming                                                                 
season.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER VINCENT-LANG confirmed that is correct.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK questioned whether [the licensing program]                                                                  
was at one time in statute.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER VINCENT-LANG confirmed it was.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN inquired as to the sunset date of the                                                                     
"logbook statute."                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
MS.   HANKE  answered   in  2018.     In   further  response   to                                                               
Representative Hannan,  she said  ADF&G estimates there  are over                                                               
800  salt  water  sportfishing   guides,  and  approximately  600                                                               
businesses,  and  offered to  provide  the  number of  freshwater                                                               
guides.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
[HB 218 was held over.]