Legislature(2019 - 2020)GRUENBERG 120
04/23/2019 10:00 AM House FISHERIES
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB116 | |
| HR8 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 116 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HR 8 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HR 8-2019: INT'L YEAR OF THE SALMON
10:58:02 AM
CHAIR STUTES announced that the next order of business would be
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 8, Recognizing 2019 as the International
Year of the Salmon and supporting an associated global
initiative identifying the importance of wild salmon.
10:58:03 AM
THATCHER BROUWER, Staff, Representative Geran Tarr, Alaska State
Legislature, introduced HR 8 on behalf of Representative Tarr,
sponsor, and noted the sponsor has done collaborative work with
other states on the resolution. He explained that HR 8
recognizes 2019 as the International Year of the Salmon (IYS)
and supports an associated global initiative identifying the
importance of wild salmon. It is a project launched by the
North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission (NPAFC) and the North
Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization (NASCO).
MR. BROUWER said he first learned about the International Year
of the Salmon at an event early this year in Juneau. Since then
he has continued to hear about the research and outreach that is
going on as part of this global initiative. One of the research
projects that has grown from the International Year of the
Salmon is the first of its kind scientific expedition in the
Gulf of Alaska where 21 international scientists were on a 5-
week trip and are now analyzing the data collected. Among the
projects, scientists are using DNA to identify stock-specific
rearing areas of all five species of salmon and determine their
abundance and condition. Those who are collaborating on this
research hope this project will occur annually going forward.
Other projects associated with the initiative include, but are
not limited to, dam removal in Maine and cleanup projects in
Northern Ireland.
MR. BROUWER related that the theme of International Year of the
Salmon is salmon and people in a changing world. Passing HR 8
is one way the State of Alaska can recognize the importance of
salmon to the state and around the world and encourage greater
research of salmon and the factors that impact their survival.
In recognition that salmon are a shared resource along the West
Coast, HR 8 was introduced in conjunction with measures in
Washington and Oregon. The committee will be hearing from the
representatives in these states that the sponsor worked with.
MR. BROUWER noted the health of salmon populations across the
Northern Hemisphere varies, but even the strongest populations
face threats from both humans and the changing environment.
Scientists still have much to learn about salmon lifecycles,
impacts of a warming climate, and increased development. All
along the West Coast, strong subsistence, sport, and commercial
fisheries are greatly important to the culture and the economy.
Now, though, a number of those salmon runs are struggling,
making it more important than ever to work collaboratively to do
the research needed to ensure that salmon are here for
generations to come. Up and down the West Coast and across the
Northern Hemisphere salmon have sustained humans and been
celebrated since the beginning of time. By passing HR 8, the
legislature will acknowledge that 2019 is International Year of
the Salmon and bring attention to the research and events in
conjunction with this global initiative.
CHAIR STUTES opened invited testimony.
11:01:17 AM
TYSON FICK testified in support of HR 8. He stated he is
currently a commercial fisherman, but has been a sport
fisherman, sport fishing guide, and has lived on the Kuskokwim
River and participated in subsistence fisheries. He said that,
for him, salmon is life and every year is the International Year
of the Salmon. The opportunity to celebrate something everyone
agrees on is appreciated. The capitol is the place to argue
about policies and how to address things, but hopefully HR 8 is
an opportunity to bring together people who like salmon and
science and who hope to learn from other places. Salmon is
something that unites people more than divides them and Alaskans
like to eat and look at them. Salmon have been lost all over
the world and are mostly gone from Europe and from the East
Coast of the U.S. When there is talk about bringing back salmon
it is about tens of fish, not the tens or hundreds of millions
like are seen in Alaska. There is a real opportunity in Alaska
to celebrate that and to continue Alaska's leadership on
fisheries management. The ideal of sustainable management was
put into the state constitution in 1959. Now, Alaska is at an
important time in talking about how to handle the other uses
that are had in the state. By following Alaska's lead, the
overfishing issue in the U.S. was largely solved. He urged
committee members to support HR 8.
REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS inquired about Mr. Fick's present
affiliation.
MR. FICK replied he is skipper of the F/V Heather Anne and owner
of Taku River Reds.
11:05:16 AM
ERIN HARRINGTON, Executive Director, The Salmon Project,
testified in support of HR 8. She noted she is a member of a
Bristol Bay salmon fishing household. She has some perspective
from having already done some work with Mark Saunders who
oversees the International Year of the Salmon. For a couple of
years, she has been part of a larger collective called Salmon
Connect that has been working to have conversations about salmon
and the ways that it connects with people's lives in the state.
Some of her colleagues from Salmon Connect have already had the
opportunity to travel to Oregon and Washington to learn about
some of the things that have happened in those states and the
loss that they've experienced. Her Alaska colleagues found
their trip to the Lower 48 extremely instructive, which speaks
to the value of this kind of cross-jurisdictional communication,
collaboration, and learning from one another. Alaska is
fortunate to have people who are still extremely connected to
salmon, it is not just as a token thing. People in Seattle love
salmon, but they love it as a memory. In Alaska salmon are
still part of people's daily, annual, and seasonal lives. She
and her colleagues can show their international and cross-
jurisdictional partners what it is like to have lives that are
still truly connected to salmon.
MS. HARRINGTON related that The Salmon Project has done a
significant amount of statewide research and found that three
out of four Alaskans consider themselves to be personally
connected to salmon; nine out of ten Alaskans use salmon as an
important Alaskan value. This crosses political stripe,
socioeconomics, and region, and is something that is shared by
most Alaskans regardless of politics. The Salmon Project has
come to believe that this is foundational in Alaska and it isn't
just about this resource, but is a medium through which people
talk about the values that they have for their families and the
aspirations they have for their children and the way they want
to live on the landscape as Alaskans. So, she cannot speak
strongly enough to the import of maintaining a robust salmon
connected way of life in Alaska and HR 8 is something that can
further Alaskans' adventure on that path.
REPRESENTATIVE TARR remarked that the phrase "salmon connected
way of life" should be used more.
11:08:22 AM
JILL WEITZ, Campaign Director, Salmon Beyond Borders Campaign,
testified in support of HR 8. She said that today she is
providing the committee with her subjective perspective, one
that is rooted in her constant learning of how salmon connect
people. On a global scale, but primarily here in Southeast
Alaska, salmon connect people to the ancient Tlingit, Haida, and
Tsimshian peoples. She supports the global initiative to build
resilience for salmon and people and celebrate with the
committee the International Year of the Salmon.
MS. WEITZ said the effort to defend and sustain the salmon of
the transboundary Taku, Stikine, and Unuk rivers has united
nearly every sector of Southeast Alaska. The Salmon Beyond
Borders Campaign partners with local Alaska businesses, each
commercial fishing gear group, sport fishermen, tour operators,
and lawmakers. It works in close coordination with tribes and
First Nations in British Columbia. These three rivers originate
in Northwest British Columbia and flow into Southeast Alaska.
They have served as centers of culture for centuries and as the
lifeblood of the largest salmon producing rivers in this region,
including producing 80 percent of [the region's] king salmon.
MS. WEITZ stated she will show the committee a video titled
"Salmon Is Life." The video is a product of a Salmon Beyond
Borders tour through Northwest British Columbia during the
harvest season of 2018. The takeaways are that each community
is different, each tradition is different, but everyone has a
salmon story, and everyone's auntie is the best at smoking
salmon. The video was first shown at the IYS launch event in
Vancouver in 2018, which was attended by 150 representatives of
the salmon community in the Pacific and Atlantic basins.
Indigenous and non-indigenous leaders from the U.S., Canada,
Russia, Korea, and Japan demonstrated support for IYS.
11:11:17 AM
REPRESENTATIVE DEBRA LEKANOFF, House District 40, Washington
State Legislature, stated she is honored to serve the State of
Washington and to provide Washington's voice in protecting and
restoring the salmon in partnership with Alaska and Oregon to
ensure there are salmon for today and generations to come.
MS. LEKANOFF shared that she is a Tlingit from Yakutat, Alaska,
who has lived in Washington state for 20 years. She has
returned to Yakutat to provide economic development and
governmental training to her community. As a Native American
woman, she always gives back to the future, to the leaders of
tomorrow, and to the past who built the road for today. She is
of the Raven moiety, of the Dog Salmon and the Owl Clan. Her
Tlingit name means meeting of the springtime frogs and a time of
change. Her house and name reflect her values and the laws that
she lives by. They guide her decision making as a mother and as
a lawmaker. If the salmon are gone, not only does she face
losing the very spirit that guides her, but lawmakers face the
impact to their rural workforces, economies, and quality of life
as people know it in Alaska, Washington, and Oregon.
REPRESENTATIVE LEKANOFF said it is a great accomplishment to
stand together to celebrate the International Year of the Salmon
and work in collaboration on salmon research and outreach around
the theme of salmon and people in the changing world. People in
Washington state applaud the partnership between the three
states, the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission, and the
North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization.
REPRESENTATIVE LEKANOFF related that Washington state faces the
reality that its waters, habitats, and resources have been
deeply impacted. Fewer is the people's truth in Washington
state. Only one river in the Lower 48 - the Skagit - produces
all six species of wild salmon. It is time to stand together to
support the common science, policies, and laws to address the
restoration and protection of salmon. Long before Washington
was the apple state it was known as the salmon state.
Washington is honored and pleased to stand with Alaska and
Oregon in sustaining one of the most honored resources to all
our economies, cultures, and quality of life.
REPRESENTATIVE TARR thanked Representative Lekanoff for the
collaboration between their offices and said she looks forward
to continuing to work together.
CHAIR STUTES stated that she is honored to be the representative
for Yakutat.
11:15:54 AM
MS. WEITZ showed the "Salmon Is Life" video to the committee.
After the video she pointed out that the remark, "salmon is
life," was made by each of the people interviewed for the video
and that the remark was unprompted. She expressed her honor to
work with people throughout the region on the international
issue of salmon, which requires collaboration. Salmon are a
symbol of resilience, a symbol of complete function, and a
symbol of Alaska. She said her organization supports HR 8 and
the efforts to better establish salmon management and policies
in Alaska and throughout the British Columbia region that are
rooted in sound science and information.
11:18:46 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KEN HELM, House District 34, Oregon State
Legislature, testified in support of HR 8. He said he is happy
to be working with Representatives Tarr and Lekanoff in a multi-
state effort to raise the awareness about wild salmon. He
related that Oregon has a similar resolution before its
chambers, HCR 35, and 41 of his House and Senate colleagues have
already signed on to the resolution. There is much enthusiasm
in Oregon for giving more attention to the state's wild salmon
stocks, the rivers they live in, and the habitat that those
rivers flow through.
MR. HELM noted that Alaska, Washington, and Oregon have a great
history and heritage of both commercial salmon harvest, tribal
harvest, and sport fishing. He said Oregon faces the same
challenges that Alaska and Washington face in that over time
Oregon's wild salmon stocks have gone into decline and continue
to do so despite Oregon's best efforts. However, a couple of
river systems are bright spots in that they have been left alone
for long enough to allow wild salmon to regenerate themselves.
He said he applauds the efforts of the advocates of these
resolutions in all three states, is proud to be part of that,
and looks forward to continued collaboration around the
protection and promotion of wild salmon.
REPRESENTATIVE TARR thanked Representative Helm for the
collaboration. She pointed out that political boundaries don't
mean much to wild salmon and it is becoming increasingly
important to be collaborating.
11:22:42 AM
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN noted the resolution doesn't mention areas
of salmon that are stressed. He pointed out that in Alaska,
eight of the twelve stocks of concern are in the Susitna-Yentna
drainage. Lodges up and down those rivers that catered to sport
fishermen are now gone because the fish are gone. The fish are
gone because these areas are stressed. He suggested language be
put into the resolution that identifies the stocks and areas of
concern. He further noted the resolution talks about Alaska
Natives, but his family depends on salmon.
MS. WEITZ agreed and said the resolution is an opportunity to
home in on those priority areas throughout Alaska that are
productive, that once were productive, and that productivity is
wanted to remain. She expressed her willingness to work with
Representative Tarr, sponsor of HR 8, to address Representative
Neuman's concerns and incorporate them into the resolution
language.
11:25:09 AM
MARK SAUNDERS, IYS Director-North Pacific Region, International
Year of the Salmon, North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission,
testified in support of HR 8. He stated that the commission has
been around for 26 years and was established by treaty between
Canada, the U.S., Japan, Korea, and Russia. It was initially
started to enforce stoppage of the high seas' driftnet fishery.
It has a larger mandate around conservation of salmon in the
high seas and conservation in the adjacent waters. He has been
to Anchorage where he met with the Salmon Connect group. He
noted that there are representatives in the Alaska Department of
Fish and Game (ADF&G) who work closely with the commission on
salmon science and the International Year of the Salmon in
general.
MR. SAUNDERS related that as salmon are being lost Alaska is a
stronghold in wanting to sustain them. Alaska is not alone in
dealing with big changes and the surprises being seen in the
declines of chinook salmon and pinks. From his travels around
the globe in the Northern Hemisphere he has found that
conversations are unique to each area, but many of the issues
being dealt with are the same. The decline that started in the
marine systems in the early 1990s also started to happen at the
same time in the Atlantic. It is not a coincidence that it
started to happen in the early 1990s and despite that big
signal, scientists are still not working together in a way that
they can start to understand that and put the clues together.
MR. SAUNDERS explained that while this is the focal year for the
International Year of the Salmon, the initiative itself will go
on through 2022. The idea is that by 2022 the connections will
have been made and a shared ability within science, social, and
regulatory bodies will have been built to learn from each other.
Things are being done in Alaska that the rest of the hemisphere
needs to understand. Alaska needs to be working with the
organizations that are working on the bigger problems of the
impact of climate on fresh water and coastal and high seas.
Right across those life histories [IYS] is working on projects
to link people. Alaska has a lot to learn from other parts of
the world, but also has a big story to tell. He looks forward
to Alaskans engaging and continuing to engage in the initiative.
MR. SAUNDERS noted the initiative is also in the middle of
raising money from governments and private foundations in the
order of tens of millions to facilitate this work that is being
taken on across the hemisphere. He looks forward to working
with Representative Tarr and organizations like Salmon Beyond
Borders. He offered his support for HR 8 and thanked the
committee for its work for the betterment of salmon and people.
REPRESENTATIVE TARR said she is excited to hear about the
collaboration and that it will be ongoing for a few more years.
She noted that things are being learned about migration patterns
in the ocean and that management regimes need to be thought
about. She looks forward to the work that Mr. Saunders is doing
and urged that relationships be strengthened in working on
protecting wild salmon populations.
11:31:20 AM
DOUG MECUM, Deputy Regional Administrator, Alaska Region,
National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce,
testified in support of HR 8. He stated that HR 8 recognizes
2019 as the International Year of the Salmon (IYS) and supports
the associated global research and outreach initiative. He said
NOAA Fisheries supports and is participating in the coordinated
development of the IYS initiative sponsored by the North Pacific
Anadromous Fish Commission (NPAFC) and the North Atlantic Salmon
Conservation Organization (NASCO). The Alaska salmon fishery
plays an integral role in the world's salmon production and the
Alaska salmon fishery, capably managed by ADF&G, is the most
valuable commercial fishery in the U.S. Sustaining Alaska's
wild salmon populations is essential in preserving salmon
cultures that have existed for thousands of years.
MR. MECUM noted that the overall theme of the IYS is salmon and
people in a changing world. He explained that the extraordinary
life histories of salmon expose them to many environmental and
anthropogenic factors influencing their health and abundance.
The IYS seeks to raise awareness of what humans can do to better
ensure salmon and their varied habitats are conserved and
restored. The IYS envisions an expansion of salmon research
efforts on the high seas and nearshore waters as well as a full
year of education, outreach, and public engagement. The IYS
provides a platform for advancing an understanding of salmon
species, as well as promoting conservation, restoration,
community support, and ocean literacy. Additionally, the IYS
provides NOAA an opportunity to highlight its programs.
MR. MECUM concluded by pointing out that salmon affect more
people culturally, economically, and recreationally than any
other fish species. Understanding how a change in climate may
influence their ocean and freshwater habitats, distributions,
and productivity is an increasingly important concern to
management agencies, the fishing industry, tribes, recreational
users, and the general public. He said NOAA Fisheries
appreciates the committee's support of HR 8 and the increased
awareness, support, and engagement that it will provide.
11:34:26 AM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR thanked Mr. Mecum for his testimony and his
extensive knowledge from his work at ADF&G and NOAA. She said
she would like to learn about the barriers to multi-state and
international collaboration as it relates to research projects
and what could be done at the State of Alaska level to help
better integrate some of those efforts.
MR. MECUM responded that the resolution is helpful, and he is
thankful for the resolution because it is a way to convince
others to support the development of this. He pointed out that
it is not all rainbows and unicorns when talking about funding
initiatives like this and international collaboration is very
difficult because it requires diplomacy and sustained effort.
11:36:07 AM
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN observed that the Endangered Species Act
is mentioned in the resolution on page 2, lines 27-28. He said
he has talked to many people in Alaska who believe that the
Marine Mammal Protection Act has had a devastating effect on
management of Alaska's salmon and that it should be changed to
the Marine Mammal Management Act to manage damage from all the
predators of salmon that are protected under that act. He asked
whether Mr. Mecum thinks that should be one of the clauses in
the resolution and part of the discussion.
MR. MECUM replied that it is the legislature's decision. He
said NOAA administers the Marine Mammal Protection Act. One of
the great success stories was getting the eastern population of
Steller sea lions off the endangered species list, and he was a
part of that effort. This has allowed for some of the legal
removals of sea lions in the Columbia and other places with
endangered species. Fortunately, Alaska doesn't have any listed
species of salmon because Alaska has taken care of business by
protecting the habitat, having a good strong management system,
and public involvement in that process. Alaska is a model for
the world. In places like [the Columbia], habitat loss has led
to some real problems and predation by marine mammals is an
issue. He said NOAA administers that according to the law and
if people think portions of the law should be changed, they can
pursue those changes legislatively.
11:38:48 AM
CHRIS SERGEANT, Research Scientist, Flathead Lake Bio Station,
University of Montana, testified in support of HR 8. He noted
that while he is with the University of Montana, he is based
permanently in Juneau. He conveyed his support for
International Year of the Salmon and continued scientific
research on this iconic group of fish. He said his work focuses
on three salmon rich transboundary rivers shared between Alaska
and British Columbia - the Taku, Stikine, and Unuk. His
interest is studying how the actions of humans modify freshwater
habitat for salmon and affect their survival.
MR. SERGEANT noted he grew up on the shores of Puget Sound and
studied salmon in that region during the first half of his
fisheries career. He watched in real time as Puget Sound and
Columbia River populations dwindled, but he was heartened to see
his friends and colleagues in urban Washington state recognize
the value of salmon recovery. He feels lucky to have worked in
Alaska for the past eight years and see so many thriving salmon
populations. However, some populations are showing signs of
decline, so continued research toward better understanding what
sustains productive freshwater ecosystems is vital to ensuring
that Alaska's communities can continue to pursue a lifestyle
fueled in large part by salmon. Alaskans are faced with an
unprecedented opportunity to preserve the state's sustainable
fisheries using science-based management.
MR. SERGEANT allowed that the march toward understanding salmon
may feel like a slow plod, but said the journey is worthy of
continued pursuit. He said Isaac Walton's book, The Complete
Angler, published in 1653, might be considered the first salmon
experiment described in writing. It describes how Atlantic
salmon were marked with sewing thread as juvenile fish and then
observed returning to the same river as spawning adults,
demonstrating the ability of salmon to accurately navigate back
to their place of birth. Over 300 years later in his
influential book on Pacific salmon, University of Washington
professor Tom Quinn, describes a group of sockeye salmon caught
in a single purse seine set in the Gulf of Alaska where all the
fish were tagged and released back to the ocean. These
individual salmon, sharing space in one tiny speck of the ocean,
eventually swam in wildly divergent directions across their
range - some returning to rivers in British Columbia like the
Skeena and the Nass, and some returning to Alaska watersheds in
places like Kodiak Island or Bristol Bay. After almost four
centuries, however, scientists still cannot definitively say how
salmon return to their home waters from a sprawling open ocean
and [scientists] are still not great at predicting when salmon
runs will be strong or weak each year. But one thing that can
be said with certainty - if enough salmon are left alone in the
water to return to clean rivers with abundant spawning grounds,
they will thrive for generations to come.
MR. SERGEANT said the diversity of salmon caught from that purse
seine set in the Gulf of Alaska holds some nice symbolism for
the International Year of the Salmon: it takes a special kind
of animal to continue holding the rapt attention of humans for
so many years. He said the committee's support of HR 8 matters
because it shows that Alaskans support science and wild salmon.
REPRESENTATIVE TARR thanked Mr. Sergeant for his testimony.
CHAIR STUTES inquired about Mr. Sergeant working for the
University of Montana but being stationed in Juneau.
MR. SERGEANT replied he is stationed in Juneau and specifically
is focused on Alaska/British Columbia transboundary watersheds.
11:42:41 AM
The committee took a brief at-ease.
11:45:20 AM
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN moved to report [HR] 8 out of committee
with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal
notes. There being no objection, HR 8 was reported from the
House Special Committee on Fisheries.