Legislature(2025 - 2026)GRUENBERG 120
02/25/2025 10:00 AM House FISHERIES
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON FISHERIES
February 25, 2025
10:02 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Louise Stutes, Chair
Representative Bryce Edgmon, Vice Chair
Representative Rebecca Himschoot
Representative Chuck Kopp
Representative Kevin McCabe
Representative Sarah Vance
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Bill Elam
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CONFIRMATION HEARING(S);
Fishermen's Fund Advisory and Appeals Council
Mary Swain - Naknek
- CONFIRMATION(S) ADVANCED
Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission
Rick Green - Anchorage
- CONFIRMATION(S) ADVANCED
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record.
WITNESS REGISTER
MARY SWAIN, Appointee
Naknek, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Fishermen's
Fund Advisory & Appeals Council.
RICK GREEN, Appointee
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Commercial
Fisheries Entry Commission.
ACTION NARRATIVE
10:02:46 AM
CHAIR LOUISE STUTES called the House Special Committee on
Fisheries meeting to order at 10:02 a.m. Representatives Vance,
Kopp, Himschoot, Edgmon, and Stutes were present at the call to
order. Representative McCabe arrived as the meeting was in
progress.
^CONFIRMATION HEARING(S):
CONFIRMATION HEARING(S):
^FISHERMEN'S FUND ADVISORY AND APPEALS COUNCIL
FISHERMEN'S FUND ADVISORY AND APPEALS COUNCIL
^COMMERCIAL FISHERIES ENTRY COMMISSION
COMMERCIAL FISHERIES ENTRY COMMISSION
10:03:38 AM
CHAIR STUTES announced that the only order of business would be
confirmation hearings on the governor's appointments to the
Fishermen's Fund Advisory & Appeals Council and the Commercial
Fisheries Entry Commission.
10:03:50 AM
CHAIR STUTES explained that the fishermen's fund was established
in 1951 to provide treatment and care to Alaska's licensed
commercial fishermen who have been injured while fishing
offshore in Alaska.
10:04:19 AM
MARY SWAIN, Appointee, Fishermen's Fund Advisory & Appeals
Council began by explaining that for the past several years, she
has served as the executive director and chief executive officer
for a community health center located in Bristol Bay. She said
that in this capacity, she has led significant expansions and
enhancements in health care services with a strong emphasis on
fiscal responsibility, community engagement, and strategic
planning. She said the health care center is dedicated to
serving a diverse community, including those involved in
Alaska's vital fisheries.
MS. SWAIN explained that her connection to Alaska's Fisheries is
not only professional but deeply personal. She said that she
has worked closely alongside people who depend on the fisheries
as their livelihood. She said understanding their challenges
and advocating for solutions has been a major part of her
leadership approach. She said that the fishermen's fund is a
critical resource for fishermen and provides necessary support
in time of injury, and ensures the workforce is protected. She
said this appointment aligns with her work background and she
had previous work experience navigating both state and federal
compliance requirements. She said she was eager to take her
background to the fishermen's fund and believes her experience
in healthcare management, community leadership and regulatory
compliance would contribute significantly to the council's
mission.
10:06:55 AM
REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON commented that he could not think of a
better candidate for the board. He said Ms. Swain's background
is exemplary and thought the committee should quickly approve
her and move forward with business.
10:07:23 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP said that his son did part of his medical
internship at the clinic Ms. Swain was affiliated with. He said
that she helped keep the Bristol Bay Fishery alive during the
COVID-19 pandemic and talked about the critical and central work
that she did to help accommodate workers. He said this is one
of many examples of her service to the state.
10:08:34 AM
CHAIR STUTES opened public testimony for the confirmation
hearing of Ms. Swain to the Fishermen's Fund Advisory & Appeals
Council. After ascertaining that nobody wished to testify,
closed public testimony for the confirmation hearing.
10:09:03 AM
RICK GREEN, Appointee, Commercial Fishing Entry Commission
(CFEC), said that he recently finished six years of employment
with the Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G). He shared
his long history in Alaska, including work experience that
included a job with the late Senator Dennis Egan, fish guiding,
project management for engineering and environmental firms, and
serving as special assistant to Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang
at the Alaska Department of Fish & Game. He personalized his
testimony by speaking about his children and sharing that a
heart attack seven years ago prompted him to assess his life and
make the decision to serve the people of Alaska and his desire
to serve on CFEC.
10:14:22 AM
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT asked what optimization studies had
been completed recently and how [CFEC] prioritizes them.
MR. GREEN responded that optimization studies are initiated by
proposals and can come from the public, the Board of Fisheries
or "wherever". He said that currently one is being worked on
regarding Kodiak herring. He said that the Limited Entry Act is
now 50 years old and suggested that some modernization may be
required to optimize the studies. He said the optimization
studies are just numbers and math, and said he was very
comfortable with this type of analytical work given his previous
project management background. He said that there is an
incredible staff at CFEC, and the lead researcher does these
studies and presents them to him and Commissioner Glenn Haight.
He said it comes done to who wants them done, who needs them
done, at which point CFEC would provide and review them.
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT asked who Mr. Green replaced when
initiating work with ADF&G.
MR. GREEN answered that he did not know who he replaced. He
said that he joined ADF&G following a group that had been "let
go" and was assigned as a special assistant to the commissioner.
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT asked if Mr. Green had any suggestions
to where fishing limitations might be needed.
MR. GREEN replied that he does not necessarily look at this as
his responsibility because CFEC responds to proposals and acts
as the avenue to get proposals forward. He said if there are
issues that need to be brought up, an optimization study could
be completed.
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT said that when it was created, CFEC had
three commissioners and now it has two. She said he had a split
vote from the other commissioner on a limited fishery. She
asked for elaboration.
MR. GREEN clarified that this is with reference to the Prince
William Sound Shrimp Fishery. He told her that he and the other
commissioner split on the decision. He felt that the open
access was an opportunity for Alaskans and something that needs
to be guarded and protected for all Alaskans until one of two
things happen. The first being a threat to the conservation of
the resource, which he said is the highest priority. The second
pertains to the economics for the fishermen; when the proposal
came, there had been no increased effort to suggest it needed to
be limited. He said he was the "no" vote on this issue.
10:18:47 AM
REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON remarked that a story had been published
by the Northern Journal regarding the "last man standing." He
said this involved a 76-year-old permit holder who was the last
individual fishing out of his community. He said after a
conversation with Mr. Haight regarding the budget numbers, it
was revealing that the travel budget was $28,000 and from what
he recalled, up from $17,000. He asked Mr. Haight who the
ambassador was for this community, and who was advocating for
keeping permits local. He wanted to give the opportunity to Mr.
Green to demonstrate how he would approach this ambassador
position and what perspectives he had.
MR. GREEN confirmed that increasing CFEC presence was something
that both Mr. Haight and him discuss. He said CFEC was starting
to increase its presence but there had been some cutbacks. He
opined that the outmigration of permits goes against the intent
of the Limited Entry Act. He said that it is a deep concern
that everybody needs to address and there are legal hurdles that
would need to be faced. He asked, "How do we honor the Limited
Entry Act to keep these economic engines in the small
communities?" He advised that it would require work with
legislators. He said that both him and Mr. Haight were
concerned about this issue and interested in addressing it.
REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON that it is striking to him that there is
no centralized voice on this issue. He said Representative Kopp
is the only current commercial fisherman in the House of
Representatives. He said that it is quite depressing to think
about this topic and that nobody was leading the charge on it.
He said Mr. Haight was doing a wonderful job on this and he
expects that Mr. Green would be "right alongside him." He said
the issue is growing in prominence and the state needed to do
more.
MR. GREEN responded that he agrees "wholeheartedly." He said
that the intent of part of the Act was to keep these economic
engines ([fishing jobs]) in small places without a lot of
opportunity.
10:23:24 AM
CHAIR STUTES complimented Representative Edgmon's comment, and
that this topic was "so critical" and considering the fishing
situation now and the whole seafood industry that they had an
opportunity to "drill down on it and hopefully make a
difference." She expressed hope that he and the CFEC would be a
critical part in helping put this together.
10:24:10 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP remarked that he was proud to support the
nomination of Mr. Green, and that he "brings a lot." He said
that as someone who has interfaced with CFEC, he always found
the commission to be incredibly responsive. He said when it
comes to responsiveness and various jobs, the CFEC is an amazing
team. He said the background in fishing was refreshing and
great to see.
MR. GREEN noted that the executive director of CFEC was in the
audience, and she brought 17 years of experience to the table.
He expressed his optimism and intent to work with her and other
CFEC staff.
10:25:31 AM
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT asked where he was located.
MR. GREEN responded that his office was in Anchorage and noted
that 3 people with CFEC are in Southcentral Alaska. He said it
gives an opportunity not to expand the travel budget but to do a
lot of work while in Southcentral. He said that he sees it as
an advantage.
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT commented that given a Sitka tribal
citizen in Mr. Green's home that she hopes to see him more in
Southeast.
10:26:28 AM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE said that he knows Mr. Green well and is
convinced he will do a fabulous job.
10:26:57 AM
CHAIR STUTES opened public testimony for the confirmation
hearing of Mr. Green to the Commercial Fisheries Entry
Commission. After ascertaining that nobody wished to testify,
she closed public testimony for the confirmation hearing.
10:27:44 AM
REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON stated that the House Special Committee on
Fisheries has reviewed the qualifications of the governor's
appointees and recommends that the following names be forwarded
to a joint session for consideration: Mary Swain, Fishermen's
Fund Advisory and Appeals; and Rick Green, Commercial Fisheries
Entry Commission. He said that signing the report regarding
appointments to boards and commissions in no way reflects an
individual member's approval or disapproval of the appointee,
and the nomination is merely forwarded to the full legislature
for confirmation or rejection.
10:28:13 AM
The committee took an at-ease from 10:28 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
10:30:04 AM
CHAIR STUTES discussed the upcoming committee schedule and the
bills pertinent to upcoming committee meetings.
10:30:42 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Fisheries meeting was adjourned at 10:30
a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| Rick Green Fisheries Entry Comm resume_Redacted (1).pdf |
HFSH 2/25/2025 10:00:00 AM |
Confirmation |
| Mary Swain Fishermen's Fund Resume_Redacted (1).pdf |
HFSH 2/25/2025 10:00:00 AM |
Confirmation |