Legislature(2003 - 2004)
02/28/2003 08:34 AM House FSH
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON FISHERIES
February 28, 2003
8:34 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Paul Seaton, Chair
Representative Peggy Wilson, Vice Chair
Representative Cheryll Heinze
Representative Ralph Samuels
Representative Ethan Berkowitz
Representative David Guttenberg
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Pete Kott
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 118
"An Act relating to the transportation and sale of certain
commercially caught fish by an agent of a commercial fishing
permit holder and to the sale of fish; and providing for an
effective date."
- MOVED CSHB 118(FSH) OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS ACTION
BILL: HB 118
SHORT TITLE:TRANSPORTATION OF COMMERCIAL FISH
SPONSOR(S): REPRESENTATIVE(S)SEATON BY REQUEST SALMON INDUSTRY
TASK FORCE
Jrn-Date Jrn-Page Action
02/21/03 0271 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME -
REFERRALS
02/21/03 0271 (H) FSH, RES
02/28/03 (H) FSH AT 8:30 AM CAPITOL 124
WITNESS REGISTER
CHRIS KNIGHT, Staff
to Representative Paul Seaton
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented information pertaining to HB 118.
DOUG MECUM, Director
Division of Commercial Fisheries
Alaska Department of Fish & Game
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in favor of HB 118.
JAMES COCKRELL, Major, Deputy Director
Division of Fish & Wildlife Protection
Department of Public Safety
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 118 as written.
MARY McDOWELL, Commissioner
Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission (CFEC)
Alaska Department of Fish & Game
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 118.
JASON KOONTZ, Fisherman
Homer, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 118.
PAUL SHADURA
Kenai Peninsula Fishermen's Association
Kenai, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 118, with
considerations.
CHRIS GARCIA
Cook Inlet Fishermen's Fund
Kenai, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in favor of HB 118.
BUCK LAUKITIS, President
North Pacific Fisheries Association
Homer, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 118.
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 03-11, SIDE A
Number 0001
CHAIR PAUL SEATON called the House Special Committee on
Fisheries meeting to order at 8:34 a.m. Representatives Seaton,
Wilson, Heinze, Samuels, and Guttenberg were present at the call
to order. Representative Berkowitz arrived as the meeting was
in progress.
HB 118-TRANSPORTATION OF COMMERCIAL FISH
CHAIR SEATON announced that the only order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 118, "An Act relating to the transportation and
sale of certain commercially caught fish by an agent of a
commercial fishing permit holder and to the sale of fish; and
providing for an effective date."
CHAIR SEATON turned the gavel over to Vice Chair Wilson.
Number 0136
CHAIR SEATON, the bill's sponsor, explained that HB 118 gives
fishermen more options to economically deliver fish and to get
better quality fish to market. Currently, for a fisherman to
deliver fish, he/she needs to be present at the point of
delivery. Because processors are cutting back on expenses, they
are contracting with fewer tenders, so fishermen have to run
their fish in, and be at the dock when those fish are sold to
the processor. In some areas of the state, enforcement of this
regulation is lax and fishermen combine their catches. It is
technically illegal if each fisherman isn't at dock when the
fish are there. Requiring fishermen to stop fishing in order to
run their fish to the processor means either they have to stop
fishing early or they retain their fish longer, which then
results in a reduction in fish quality. This bill gives
fishermen the option to hire a tender. There will be fish
tickets to account for all fish on board, so this in no way
circumvents the reporting process or the fish ticketing system.
HB 118 allows fishermen the flexibility to deliver a better
product, more economically, to processors.
REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ asked if anyone was against this bill.
CHAIR SEATON said he has not received comments against the bill.
He mentioned working in coordination with the Alaska Department
of Fish & Game (ADF&G) and the Department of Public Safety
(DPS), and said any previous objections have already been
addressed.
Number 0506
CHAIR SEATON offered Amendment 1, which read [original
punctuation provided]:
Technical
Page 2, line 15-16,
After the words, "shall provide the fish transporter
[in writing] with all required information that
the..."
CHAIR SEATON explained that the reason for the amendment was due
to an earlier draft in which there was a requirement for a
transporter agreement to accompany the fish as well as the fish
ticket. Both ADF&G and DPS decided that the fish ticket could
be used as sufficient documentation, and that the other piece of
written documentation was not necessary.
Number 0634
VICE CHAIR WILSON objected for discussion purposes.
REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ referred to contract law and said that
when dealing with items over a certain value, there are certain
presumptions that attach, so that memorializing something
writing is sometimes a preferred course.
CHAIR SEATON replied that a permit containing all of the
specifications will be issued by the department. For fishermen
to utilize the transporter, they will need to see the permit and
know conditions such as that the fisherman retains ownership of
the fish, and that the transporter is acting solely as an agent.
REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ asked if the fisherman would be paying
the transporter.
CHAIR SEATON said there would be a contract between the
fisherman and the transporter.
VICE CHAIR WILSON asked about the position of the Joint
Legislative Salmon Industry Task Force ("Salmon Task Force")
regarding the proposed amendment.
CHAIR SEATON replied that the Salmon Task Force said the bill
was a great idea and did not address further details. They
expressed interest in having input from the Board of Fisheries,
and there is a letter of support in the committee packet from
the Board of Fisheries. The Salmon Task Force has not been
involved with technical questions because they deal with the
concept, which they have approved.
VICE CHAIR WILSON noted that changes to a bill can modify the
intention and asked if there was input from the Salmon Task
Force.
CHAIR SEATON replied that [Senator] Ben Stevens was aware that
the bill would be modified, and had expressed interest in moving
the bill through legislation because it could help fishermen in
the coming season.
Number 0913
CHRIS KNIGHT, Staff to Representative Paul Seaton, Alaska State
Legislature, said the bill originally had some technical
problems, but in working with ADF&G those problems were
resolved; the overall scope and character of the bill remain the
same.
REPRESENTATIVE GUTTENBERG asked if every fisherman would have
this permit as well as a fishing permit, or if perhaps a box
could be checked on a license to indicate the other license as
well.
CHAIR SEATON said ADF&G requires a permit to ensure that the
transporter fully understands the rules. This doesn't just
expand what is allowed under a permit, but is a separate permit.
He said the fisherman actually retains ownership of the fish,
and the transporter is acting as his/her agent. These are
individual contracts that would be signed or made between
fishermen, or between a fisherman and a tender.
REPRESENTATIVE HEINZE asked if the original intent of HB 118 was
to prevent harvest abuse.
Number 1081
CHAIR SEATON replied that the original intent was to allow
fishermen the flexibility to be able to deliver a quality
product at a lower price. He referred to letter in the packet
from Buck Laukitis, a fisherman from the Aleutian Chain. Chair
Seaton explained that when the processor no longer sends out a
tender, there are several fishing boats to catch fish but they
are not having high enough volume for each fisherman to fill up
every day. For example, it is expensive to run from False Pass
to Sand Point, so the fishermen give up fishing. If they could
have their own tender or if one of the fishing boats could
aggregate those fish, write out the fish ticket, and take those
fish to Sand Point, then it would be economical to continue
fishing. The idea of HB 118 is to give fishermen an option to
get their fish to market quickly and more economically so that
everyone doesn't have to leave the grounds and run all the way
back to the processor.
REPRESENTATIVE HEINZE asked why, prior to this bill, fishermen
were required to be at the dock to meet the tender.
CHAIR SEATON said the fish ticket system in Alaska is a great
system; it makes sure all the fish are accounted for. When the
system was designed, the processors had tenders, thereby
supplying a place for that buyer to be on the grounds. Now, the
situation has changed due to the economics of the fishery, and
fisherman cannot deliver fish on the grounds like they used to
because processors are no longer supplying tenders. This bill
allows for a substitute tender, and it maintains the integrity
of the fish ticket system. It specifies that the fish ticket
data must be filled out and must accompany the fish.
Number 1273
DOUG MECUM, Director, Division of Commercial Fisheries, Alaska
Department of Fish & Game, thanked Chair Seaton and his staff
for making the necessary changes to the bill. He said that all
concerns have been answered in working with The Department of
Law and The Division of Fish & Wildlife Protection; he testified
that the department supports HB 118.
REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ asked what the potential penalties
would be if this provision were violated.
Number 1381
VICE CHAIR WILSON noted that the procedure was such that the
committee was addressing the amendment.
VICE CHAIR WILSON withdrew her objection to the amendment.
There being no further objection, Amendment 1 was adopted.
Number 1440
JAMES COCKRELL, Major, Deputy Director, Division of Fish &
Wildlife Protection, Department of Public Safety, responded to
Representative Berkowitz, saying that a violation would be
subject to penalties under AS 16.05.722 - AS 16.05.723, which
spell out what a commercial fishing misdemeanor is - whether it
is similar to a class A misdemeanor or a strict liability
violation.
Number 1518
MARY McDOWELL, Commissioner, Commercial Fisheries Entry
Commission (CFEC), Alaska Department of Fish & Game, spoke in
support of HB 118. She noted that CFEC will have to give
commercial vessel licenses to vessels used as transporters.
Most transporters will already have a commercial vessel license
because of their involvement with either harvesting, processing,
or tendering; however, CFEC will have to change the application
format so it includes an additional category.
MS. McDOWELL emphasized the critical importance to CFEC and
ADF&G that fish ticket information be kept discrete, and that at
the point of delivery, the transporter not aggregate that
information. A tender usually has a state-certified scale on
board to weigh fish, and the fish ticket contains complete
information. In some of these cases, transporters will probably
have to count fish so that there will be discrete information on
the fish tickets.
MS. McDOWELL explained that ADF&G needs to have good fish ticket
information for management purposes, and CFEC needs that
information for research and for day-to-day functions, including
determining average growth earnings of fishermen, and for
economic analysis. When CFEC limits a fishery, it sets up a
point system that determines who is most economically dependent
on that fishery, which is how it determines who is grandfathered
in to a fishery; a part of that point system is based on fish
ticket information, which reveals catch history. It is
important, if fish are delivered to transporters, that the fish
ticket integrity be maintained, so that if CFEC limits the
fishery, there is accurate information. Ms. McDowell offered
other examples that reference accurate fish ticket information,
such as optimal number studies, the federal government's IFQ
[individual fishery quota] programs, certain legal settlements,
and certain loan programs.
Number 1718
MS. McDOWELL testified that this bill gives ADF&G some
flexibility and authority to establish criteria and to analyze a
given transporter application to make sure that the applicant
has the means of ensuring the integrity of that fish ticket
information. She said regarding the amendment on page 2,
deleting the words "in writing" helps to clarify that it is a
stamped fish ticket that is being required. The commission
[CFEC] issues a little plastic card to every fisherman, which
has his/her permit number, name, et cetera; CFEC wants to make
it clear that a fisherman needs to provide his/her permit card
to the transporter, stamped on an official ticket. Rather than
writing down information from that card, they need to actually
have their card and stamp it. She concluded by saying the goal
of HB 118 is good; it provides both for the integrity of the
fish ticket system and for a needed service on the fishing
grounds.
Number 1895
JASON KOONTZ, Fisherman, testified in support of HB 118. He
said it is a good bill: it gives fishermen flexibility in
delivering their fish, provides the opportunity to develop new
markets, and ensures quality.
MR. COCKRELL said DPS supports HB 118 as written, as issues of
enforceability have been addressed; he appreciates the work that
ADF&G and Chair Seaton's office have done on the bill.
Number 1975
PAUL SHADURA, Kenai Peninsula Fishermen's Association, testified
that the association supports HB 118, although they feel it
stops short of addressing regulatory impediments on the Cook
Inlet setnet fishery. He said if this bill were to truly allow
efficiency and higher productivity, it should address other
changes in the delivery and reporting requirements. Currently,
commercial setnet fishermen in Cook Inlet are fined several
thousand dollars for doing what they have practiced doing for
several years. They have operated a type of cooperative in Cook
Inlet for many years, composed of family, extended family, or
groups of small businessmen who pool their resources to reduce
costs and accommodate individual situations. Currently, a
setnet permitted fisherman cannot have his wife or other
crewmember of his/her operation deliver the salmon to market.
The fisherman must stop fishing, stop picking nets, and drive to
wherever the market is. This allows little time for preparation
for the next opening or for sleep, and is counterproductive.
[The association] strongly objects to CFEC's position on the
need for individual fish ticket reporting. He said it is
apparent that the setnet operations in fisheries in Cook Inlet
are not understood very well by CFEC.
REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ asked that Mr. Shadura forward to his
office any specific suggestions as to how to remedy the problem.
Number 2114
CHRIS GARCIA, Cook Inlet Fishermen's Fund, testified in favor of
HB 118. He agreed that several areas of the state have reduced
tender service due to the economics of the fishery. Because of
that, beach fishermen in remote areas, for example, have to
either quit fishing or fly their fish to the processor. Flying
is expensive and the expense keeps people from fishing. This
bill opens up the possibility for someone fishing in that area
to transport the fish.
Number 2170
BUCK LAUKITIS, President, North Pacific Fisheries Association,
noting that he had submitted written comments, stated the
following:
Our group met earlier this week to discuss House Bill
118. I submitted written comments this morning. Our
group supports this bill. We feel that it will solve
a number of problems fishers face in remote locations.
This bill will allow fishermen to save costs by
consolidating fish to be transported to primary
processors. We feel that, if enacted, this bill will
have an immediate positive effect for fishermen this
summer. We feel that this is a well thought out and
well researched bill that has no downside.
I'll give you a couple of examples of how this bill
will work. These are my own personal experiences.
Oftentimes I am fall fishing for coho salmon on the
Alaska Peninsula area and when the local processor
will stop sending a tender after a certain date even
though the fish are still available. It's basically
because the cost of the tender is too high for the
volume of fish being caught or the processor is more
interested in other species - pollock or cod or some
other opening. And so that means that every night -
and this is just a little subset of the fleet where I
happen to be fishing - there will be 3 to 8 or 10
boats every night will have to run to King Cove to
deliver, as the regulations exist now, if they wish to
sell their catch.
With current coho prices of about 15 cents per pound,
losing the tender usually means the fishing boats
leave the grounds - meaning they go home, go to port,
call it a season - and the resource goes unharvested.
Under current regulations each boat must run in to
deliver. Sometimes boats that aren't catching much
high volumes try to hold their fish for a second day,
and this is really detrimental to fish quality.
Under this Act, I would be allowed to consolidate
three or four of my fishing friends' catch onto my
refrigerated seawater boat on the grounds, weigh them,
issue fish tickets, and then run them in to the
market, in to the local processor. Perhaps the next
night another boat, one of my other friends, would
provide that service and I could get a night's sleep.
Basically, you get no sleep if you're running every
night. The savings in fuel and effort would
potentially make the difference between ending the
season, versus fishermen and processors continuing to
utilize the salmon resources.
The other situation I have faced where this may help
is during the state-water cod fishery on the Alaska
Peninsula. Last year, the cannery had a three-day
backup after the season closed. That means that we
had to wait for three days from the closing date to
get our fish delivered. A better-quality fish could
be delivered for a higher price if three 58-foot cod
pot boats could consolidate their catch - say, put
100,000 pounds on one of the boats - and send that
boat to Kodiak.
We had situations where boats were heading back that
way, and it happened to be that the price was 30 or 40
percent higher in Kodiak than King Cove. This would
be not only cost savings, savings of time, but also we
could have made considerably more money that year.
... We hope this bill will move through the
legislative process so that we can utilize these
advantages in the upcoming season. ...
Number 2360
VICE CHAIR WILSON asked if a spouse or crewmember could get a
transport permit if this bill were in effect.
MR. MECUM answered yes.
REPRESENTATIVE SAMUELS asked, in reference to previous testimony
from a setnet fisherman, if a transporter necessarily had to be
a boat, or if all that was needed was a license in order to then
transport fish by perhaps truck or plane.
CHAIR SEATON answered that was correct.
MR. MECUM said he thought the problem referred to by Mr. Shadura
would be solved by this bill.
[Vice Chair Wilson asked if Mr. Shadura was still on
teleconference, but he wasn't.]
Number 2464
REPRESENTATIVE HEINZE moved to report HB 118, as amended, out of
committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying
fiscal notes.
Number 2486
REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ objected for discussion purposes. He
said he was in support of this bill, but wanted to acknowledge
that when the committee passes statutes, costs may be added to
other entities of government.
CHAIR SEATON responded that this bill would actually reduce
costs because, currently, illegal procedures are going on,
citations are being written, and there is a lot of liability.
The objective is not to make illegal activities legal, but to
have efficient operations. He said that HB 118 should actually
reduce court costs because it melds current practice with the
law, so it should result in fewer citations.
REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ said his point was not just in
reference to this bill, but to other bills as well; there are
implications that might not crop up in the fiscal note, but that
the committee needs to pay attention to.
Number 2588
REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ withdrew his objection.
Number 2608
VICE CHAIR WILSON indicated that there being no further
objection, CSHB 118(FSH) was reported from the House Special
Committee on Fisheries.
VICE CHAIR WILSON turned the gavel back to Chair Seaton.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Fisheries meeting was adjourned at
9:15 a.m.
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