04/12/1996 04:24 PM Senate RES

             CSHB 265(FSH) EXPORT OF DUNGENESS CRAB                           
                                                                              
  CHAIRMAN LEMAN  brought CSHB 265(FSH) before the committee as the            
 next order of business.                                                       
                                                                               
  REPRESENTATIVE WILLIAMS , prime sponsor of HB 265, said the bill was         
 introduced in response to constituents who are struggling to                  
 develop a live crab market in British Columbia or the Lower 48.               
 Current law provides that if an out-of-state live dungeness market            
 is established, the product must be shipped by air transportation,            
 which is tricky and, in many cases, cost prohibitive.  There are              
 frequent weather delay problems and other forms of delays                     
 associated with flying in Alaska.                                             
                                                                               
 CSHB 265(FSH) will remove the air transportation requirement when             
 shipping live dungeness crab out of state.  The bill goes further             
 by answering concerns about marine toxins, particularly PSP, by not           
 allowing surface transportation to occur in areas where the                   
 Department of Environmental Conservation is requiring the testing             
 of crab for marine toxins.                                                    
                                                                               
 Representative Williams said the legislation will allow fishermen             
 to expand their markets and provide an opportunity for                        
 diversification at this time.                                                 
                                                                               
 Number 310                                                                    
                                                                               
  STEVEN DAUGHERTY , Assistant Attorney General, Natural Resources             
 Section, Department of Law, stated the department's concerns with             
 the original bill have been greatly reduced both because of changes           
 made in the committee substitute and because they have learned that           
 the underlying statute (AS 16.10.240) serves the purpose of making            
 commercial fishing regulations, including size and sex limitations            
 and reporting requirements enforceable.                                       
                                                                               
 Mr. Daugherty said it has been brought to the department's                    
 attention that the underlying statute generally prohibiting                   
 transportation of live king, tanner and dungeness crab, except via            
 air freight after prepackaging, helps prevent vessels fishing in              
 isolated areas from retaining undersize or female crab in violation           
 of state regulations.  It has also been brought to their attention            
 that these enforcement concerns are much less significant in the              
 dungeness fisheries because they do not generally occur in isolated           
 deep water areas, and it much easier for enforcement officers to              
 board and inspect vessels fishing for dungeness than for king and             
 tanner crab; thus, the underlying statute will continue to serve a            
 compelling purpose even if export of dungeness is allowed.  He also           
 noted that by prohibiting export by surface transportation during             
 periods in which PSP testing is required, the bill will continue to           
 allow the statute to serve public health purposes.                            
                                                                               
 In his closing comments, Mr. Daugherty said that after reviewing              
 the committee substitute and discussing the enforcement purposes of           
 the underlying statute with staff from Fish & Game and Fish &                 
 Wildlife, the department does not believe that CSHB 265(FSH) would            
 significantly increase the risk of a successful challenge to the              
 underlying statute.                                                           
                                                                               
 Number 355                                                                    
                                                                               
  CAPTAIN RICHARD GRAHAM , Division of Fish & Wildlife Protection,             
 Department of Public Safety, testifying from Anchorage, added that            
 the legislation will allow a vessel to take live crab directly from           
 the fishing grounds out of state waters, waters for which the state           
 has jurisdiction. This particular statue will require them to                 
 perhaps conduct more inspections at sea than they do at this point,           
 but the dungeness fishery is a small fishery and somewhat isolated            
 to Southeast Alaska, so this additional requirement on their part             
 to conduct inspections on the fishing grounds would not be that               
 much of a burden.                                                             
                                                                               
 Captain Graham noted there is a regulation in the Alaska                      
 Administrative Code that requires all vessels that leave state                
 waters with what is referred to as either raw or unprocessed                  
 product, to check out with the Department of Fish and Game and                
 complete fish tickets.  However, he is confident that some type of            
 arrangement could be made between the department and these                    
 departing vessels to ensure that they are in compliance with that             
 particular regulation.                                                        
                                                                               
 Number 386                                                                    
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN LEMAN  stated CSHB 265(FSH) would be set aside until a              
 quorum of the committee was established.