HB 156-EXTEND HAIR CRAB & SCALLOP LIMITED ENTRY  10:04:25 AM CHAIR SEATON announced that the first order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 156, "An Act extending the termination date of the authority of the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission to maintain a vessel-based limited entry fisheries system for the weathervane scallop and Bering Sea hair crab fisheries; and providing for an effective date by amending the effective date under sec. 28, ch. 137, SLA 2002." 10:05:09 AM KATE WOLGEMUTH, Staff, Representative Bob Herron, Alaska State Legislature, presented HB 156, paraphrasing from a prepared statement, which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: House Bill 156 extends the "sunset" date of the vessel-based limited entry programs for the weathervane scallops and the Bering Sea hair crab fisheries from December 30, 2013 to December 30, 2023. Although, it is recognized that there are two fisheries affected here, I will be mostly speaking to the Bering Sea hair crab fishery, as: It is being brought forth as requested by a CDQ in the Bering Sea Region who has interest in two hair crab permits. Vessel-based limited entry permits are not widespread in the state of Alaska. Limited entry into the vast majority of commercial fisheries has been implemented with a skipper-based system that awards permits to individual fisherman based on their prior history of participation in and economic dependence on each specific fishery. Created by the Alaska State Legislature about a decade ago, vessel-based limited entry is a very narrow exception to the individual-based system. In 2002, the Legislature amended that Limited Entry Act to allow vessel-based limited entry permits to be given to vessels (instead of individuals) with a history of fishing for weathervane scallops and Bering Sea hair crab in state waters. These permits were issued as a result of an adjudicative process that considered past fishing history and other criteria that provide a rational basis for the issuance of those permits. This process complied with the constitutional mandate limiting the establishment of exclusive rights of fishery. That said, conservation concerns have not allowed for any commercial openings for the Bering Sea hair crab fishery in the last decade. Although, keep in mind that these permits are still held by vessels that are ready and able to harvest hair crab if and when fisheries managers decide that circumstances allow this fishery to open. Bering Sea hair crab are of significant economic interest for the Bering Sea Region, as there already exist successful opilio and king crab fisheries that provide job opportunities for residents of said region. It is expected that when the hair crab fishery is reopened, those same great opportunities will be available in the Bering Sea region for those aboard hair crab vessels. Extending the sunset date for the vessel-based limited entry programs within the Limited Entry Act will serve the Bering Sea region well, as it allows for a potential future opening of the hair crab fishery. 10:08:00 AM REPRESENTATIVE GATTIS asked how the fishery was handled prior to the limited entry approach. MS. WOLGEMUTH responded that the fisheries were open access prior to moratoria being imposed and the vessel based limited entry scheme implemented. 10:08:41 AM CHAIR SEATON asked what has occurred for the vessels during the ten year moratoria; have any left the fisheries. MS. WOLGEMUTH offered to provide the information to the committee. CHAIR SEATON announced that the bill would be held.