Legislature(1995 - 1996)
02/28/1996 08:03 AM House RES
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HB 265 - EXPORT OF DUNGENESS CRAB Number 0126 CHERYL SUTTON, Legislative Aide to Representative Williams, was first to testify. She said HB 265 is an economic development bill and was introduced by Representative Williams in response to constituents who are struggling to develop a live crab market in British Columbia. She said, currently, if an out of state live dungeness crab market is formed there is a requirement that the product is shipped throughout the year by air. She said air transportation of live crab is tricky, due to weather, and in many cases cost prohibitive. MS. SUTTON said the committee substitute for HB 265 would remove the air-transportation-only restriction when shipping live dungeness crab out of state. She said HB 265 goes further by addressing concerns regarding marine toxins, particularly paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP). It does this by not allowing surface transportation where the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is requiring the testing of crab for marine toxins. She said the DEC requirement addresses concerns for areas outside of Southeast Alaska such as the Kodiak fishery which tests hot consistently for PSP, requiring the crab to be sectioned and the viscera removed. She said besides Kodiak and Southeast Alaska, no other areas in the state have dungeness fisheries that occur in significant amounts. MS. SUTTON said all the recording requirements are in place for this fishery to occur. Fishermen would be classified as catcher- exporters and appropriate taxes would be paid and catch statistics recorded. She said there was a memorandum located in the committee packet from the legislative research agency on this subject. She said HB 265 will allow fishermen to expand their market, provide diversification and added that it is a good economic development bill. She said there are two zero fiscal notes attached to HB 265. Number 0290 REPRESENTATIVE SCOTT OGAN asked if HB 265 would have any negative impacts on the fishing stocks. MS. SUTTON said anyone can fish illegally at any time if they have the will to do so. She said resource management and illegal harvesting is always an issue, but she felt that the recording mechanisms were in place to track and manage the fisheries. She added that the Department of Fish and Game (DF&G) has no problem with HB 265. Number 0386 GERON BRUCE, Legislative Liaison, Office of the Commissioner, Department of Fish and Game, was next to testify. He said the DF&G supports HB 265 and added that he was available for any questions. Number 0404 CO-CHAIR JOE GREEN asked about PSP, specifically the two year suspension of winter PSP testing of crab viscera in areas where there have been determinations of PSP. Number 0440 MS. SUTTON said DEC spot tests for PSP. She said it is monitored through the processors and sufficient spot testing is done to know if there is a level which exceeds a certain limit. She added that the DEC requires that areas be tested all the time. She said only two areas have been identified by DEC, so far, Southeast and the Bering Sea where DEC does not require constant monitoring. She said DEC will do spot testing, but they will never cease from monitoring in one form or another for health and safety reasons. Number 0520 CO-CHAIR GREEN asked if the receiving market needed a certification that the crab was PSP free. Number 0529 MS. SUTTON said it is the state of Alaska which issues the certification that the dungeness crab are PSP free, by virtue of the fact that they allow air or surface transport of the crab. Number 0580 DON HASELTINE, Crabber, testified via teleconference from Ketchikan. He said the fishermen have lost the crab market due to the PSP scare in 1991. He said at that time the one processor in the area backed out of the market. He said if markets in British Columbia are allowed, trucking and tenders could be used to get the crab out which would be economic and would maintain a good product. Number 0653 MR. HASELTINE said the current law requires air transport. He said, in Ketchikan, this means using Alaska Airlines which flies down to Seattle. He said the Seattle market is saturated, so markets in San Francisco and Vancouver, as well as other markets must be targeted. He said due to the varying weather conditions, it averages about 20 to 30 hours to ship that live product. He said this time period can mean the loss of the whole product or a reduction in the quality of that product. He said in his area the crabs have never tested positive for PSP and added that he didn't understand the concern regarding that issue in regards to transporting the crab. He said the air transport provision does not necessarily ensure that the crabs would be tested, as the crabs can be flown out without going through the town. Number 0717 MR. HASELTINE discussed the market possibilities under HB 265. He said there is a market in Vancouver and Prince Rupert which would be cost effective to market if trucking could be utilized. He said a local processor is interested in shipping crabs to Prince Rupert by boat. He said the delays associated with air transport create a poor product due to the added length of time. Number 0793 MR. HASELTINE said there is no crabbing currently occurring because of the cost associated with crabbing and the potential loss of the product due to the air transport factors. He said DF&G and DEC do not have a problem with using other methods of transportation for shipping dungeness crabs. Number 0906 REPRESENTATIVE DON LONG asked why dungeness crab is specified in HB 265 as compared to other types of crab. Number 0925 MS. SUTTON said other types of crab have PSP problems, with the exception of the Opilio Tanner crab in the Bering Sea. She said the months Opilio Tanner crabs are fished there is not a lot of enforcement and because of this ADF&G would have accountability concerns if that type of crab was included in HB 265. She concluded that the dungeness crab was a safe fishery in terms of accountability, no reported PSP content and it is in close proximity to a market. Number 0999 REPRESENTATIVE ALAN AUSTERMAN said the original version of HB 265 did not refer to the DEC requirements regarding PSP precautions. He said DEC requires a winter window in which the crab can be shipped. In the summer, when there is a possibility of PSP, the crabs cannot be shipped. He said the current wording of the committee substitute of HB 265 incorporates this DEC requirement. Number 1040 REPRESENTATIVE OGAN asked if there were any concerns associated with enforcement around the shipping of the crab. He referred to the comment made by Mr. Haseltine about sending the crab down on tenders. Number 1084 REPRESENTATIVE AUSTERMAN said these fisheries are done on an allocation of poundage and the recording system is the same. He said even if crabs were shipped, a report would be made on how much crab is caught before the season closes. He added that the issue of enforcement is a separate issue and does not relate to HB 265, because if people are going to act outside the law then they would do it with or without the passage of HB 265. Number 1135 REPRESENTATIVE AUSTERMAN made a motion to move CSHB 265 with the accompanying fiscal notes and individual recommendations. Hearing no objection CSHB 265 (FSH) was moved from the House Standing Committee on Resources.
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