CSHB 186(FSH)-SPORT FISHING GUIDE RECORDS  3:37:54 PM CHAIR HUGGINS announced CSHB 186(FSH) to be up for consideration. TOM WRIGHT, staff to Representative Harris, sponsor of HB 186, said that it makes minor amendments to AS 16.05.815 that allows the ADF&G to share information about sport fishing guides for law enforcement purposes with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Marine Fishery Service (NMFS) and to the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC). CHAIR HUGGINS asked the ADF&G why this information needs to be shared. DOUGLAS VINCENT-LANG, Special Projects, Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), explained that the allocation of halibut has been before the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) recently and one of the preferred alternatives that was favored by charter boat operators is having an annual limit rather than a one-fish bag limit or instituting even more restrictive measures that would affect the daily opportunity of guided anglers to catch fish. However after an analysis, it was found that an annual limit could not be established without having the ability to share log book information with NMFS enforcement. The only other way to track an annual limit would be for charter boat operators to have a state log book for state managed species as well as a duplicate federal log book for halibut. The Council and many charter boat operators view annual limits as an opportunity, but don't want to burden the charter boat operators by requiring a duplicate log book program. So, they are now asking to allow sharing of log book information for enforcement purposes only with the NMFS enforcement and with the IPHC. The shared information would remain confidential with one minor exception - if a violation actually went to court, that piece of information associated with the violation would become public. However this information would still remain confidential meaning that those confidential records could not be released. 3:40:02 PM SENATOR STEVENS said he knows a lot of fishermen who are very concerned about giving out information and probably wouldn't tell their own mothers where they caught halibut. How can people be assured that this information that is shared with federal agencies is going to be protected as much as it was when it was in state hands. MR. VINCENT-LANG replied under the statue the information remains confidential except for enforcement purposes. He reminded the committee that log book information is already shared for the purposes of fishery management plan development. The only reason you would be fearful is if you have a violation. 3:41:29 PM SENATOR WAGONER asked what the penalty would be if information gets out accidentally. Charter boat operators are concerned that this information is their client list which is how they make their living. Competitors will do bulk mailing to their client base and offer them a trip at a reduced rate if they have access to that information. 3:43:44 PM MR. VINCENT-LANG replied that he didn't know the exact penalty, but it wouldn't be any different than the penalties associated with the current sharing of commercial fish ticket information with NMFS enforcement. Commercial fishermen have that same worry. SENATOR WAGONER said that commercial fishermen fish a much larger geographic area and guides have areas that are much more specific, so this information would be much more damaging to them. MR. VINCENT-LANG said he would get the penalty information for him. STEVEN DAUGHERTY, Department of Law, said he was looking for an answer to that question. CHAIR HUGGINS remarked that it is very easy to find information about anybody on the Internet and asked what makes him think this information won't be able to be found there, too. MR. VINCENT-LANG replied that the department has an MOU with the federal government saying it won't release this information if it is not kept confidential. CHAIR HUGGINS asked if another course of action could get the same results. MR. VINCENT-LANG replied that the other course of action would be for charter boat operators to have a duplicate federal recording program. 3:46:33 PM CHAIR HUGGINS asked why the client base is germane to where the fish are caught. MR. VINCENT-LANG replied that the past log book program included summary harvest information by trip, but the Council needs good harvest records to develop quotas and allocation guidelines as well as individual fishery quota systems (IFQs). To assure accurate reporting, the Council started recording angler-by- angler harvest and are sub-sampling those entries for accuracy. CHAIR HUGGINS asked him to explain the moratorium. MR. VINCENT-LANG responded that some people are confused because the NPFMC recently adopted a halibut sport charter moratorium and entries in these log books will be used to establish a management plan. Operators might be confused about how this bill would affect their ability to enter into that moratorium. However, the department can already share information with the Council for developing that management plan. HB 186 will allow enforceability once the moratorium is in place. So, it doesn't necessarily translate into the eligibility for the moratorium. SENATOR STEDMAN asked if there is any linkage to potential IFQs for the charter industry. MR. VINCENT-LANG replied that the information could potentially be used by the Council in deciding on whether to go to an IFQ system or not, but this bill doesn't get it any closer to that decision. He said that the state has a vote on the Council. 3:49:38 PM CHAIR HUGGINS asked if the commissioner of ADF&G supports this bill. MR. VINCENT-LANG answered yes. CHAIR HUGGINS asked what the boat operators have to say about this issue. MR. VINCENT-LANG replied that he has talked to a lot of different boat owners who exhibited uniform support for an annual limit for charter anglers. However, everyone was quite shocked when they found out that state log book information could not be shared with the federal system and that a duplicate federal reporting program would have to be put in place. That's why the Halibut Commission adopted the one-fish bag limit, which is not the preferred alternative for the industry. SENATOR STEDMAN said the City of Sitka has imposed a surcharge on export of fish boxes because of its concerns over the large amount of product being flown out of town and the amount of product being flow out of town with the same name on the 50- pound boxes. He asked if that community and possibly others could set up systems that track the export of fish to the ADF&G so the different reporting could be cross-referenced. MR. VINCENT-LANG replied that wouldn't be part of this legislation. He elaborated that Sitka was worried about a couple of different issues when it adopted that export tax. Part of it was concern over local user conflicts, which the department is concerned about too and it is looking at a variety of different mechanisms to address - including the development of local area management plans. Sitka has one of those plans, but it needs to be updated - because since the original plan was developed, a subsistence long-line fishery has been instituted in the area which needs to become a part of it. 3:53:28 PM SENATOR STEDMAN said Sitka is the first city to institute this kind of surcharge and has more concerns that a large amount of product goes unreported. He thought the more cross reporting the state has, the more accurate the information regulators will have. MR. VINCENT-LANG replied that is what the Council liked about the annual limit which is based on how much fish an individual needs on an annual basis. MR. DAUGHERTY found a partial answer to penalties for disclosure of confidential information in 18USC19.05. It said they "shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than one year or both and shall be removed from office or employment." He hadn't been able to determine the fine, yet, but he thought the termination of employment and imprisonment for one year were fairly substantial penalties and should be sufficient to assure a pretty high degree of confidentiality. SENATOR WAGONER said, "It sounds good to me." 3:56:34 PM CHAIR HUGGINS asked how this information is transmitted. MR. VINCENT-LANG replied electronically and only upon request to the requesting person. CHAIRS HUGGINS said they would set HB 186 aside. 3:58:11 PM at ease 4:01:22 PM