ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE  SENATE RESOURCES STANDING COMMITTEE  February 16, 2015 3:29 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Senator Cathy Giessel, Chair Senator Mia Costello, Vice Chair Senator John Coghill Senator Peter Micciche Senator Bert Stedman Senator Bill Stoltze Senator Bill Wielechowski MEMBERS ABSENT  All members present COMMITTEE CALENDAR  CONFIRMATION HEARING Board of Fisheries Dr. Roland Maw - HEARD AND HELD HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 9 Urging the United States Congress to pass legislation to open the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas development; urging the United States Department of the Interior to recognize the private property rights of owners of land in and adjacent to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; relating to oil and gas exploration, development, production, and royalties; and relating to renewable and alternative energy technologies. - MOVED SCS HJR 9(RES) OUT OF COMMITTEE PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION  BILL: HJR 9 SHORT TITLE: ENDORSING ANWR LEASING SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) TALERICO 01/23/15 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS 01/23/15 (H) RES 02/02/15 (H) RES AT 1:00 PM BARNES 124 02/02/15 (H) Moved HJR 9 Out of Committee 02/02/15 (H) MINUTE(RES) 02/04/15 (H) RES RPT 7DP 1NR 02/04/15 (H) DP: HERRON, JOSEPHSON, JOHNSON, OLSON, SEATON, HAWKER, TALERICO 02/04/15 (H) NR: TARR 02/04/15 (H) SUSTAINED RULING OF CHAIR Y29 N10 E1 02/09/15 (H) TRANSMITTED TO (S) 02/09/15 (H) VERSION: HJR 9 02/11/15 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS 02/11/15 (S) RES 02/16/15 (S) RES AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205 WITNESS REGISTER REPRESENTATIVE DAVID TALERICO Alaska State Legislature Juneau, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Sponsor of HJR 9; said he approved of the changes in the committee (CS) and was available for questions. ROBERTA HIGHLAND, representing herself Homer, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Strongly opposed HJR 9. ROLAND MAW Kasilof, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Board of Fisheries appointee. PAUL SHADURA South K-Beach Independent Fishermen's Association Soldotna, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Supported Mr. Maw's confirmation to the Board of Fisheries. ARNI THOMPSON, Executive Director Alaska Salmon Alliance Anchorage, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Supported Mr. Maw's confirmation to the Board of Fisheries. CHRIS GARCIA, representing himself Kenai, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Supported Mr. Maw's confirmation to the Board of Fisheries. GARY STEVENS, Alaska Outdoor Council (AOC) Chugiak, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed Mr. Maw's confirmation to the Board of Fisheries, because he wants to involve the federal government in management of the state's natural resources. WES HUMBYRD, representing himself Homer, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Supported Mr. Maw's confirmation to the Board of Fisheries. GEORGE PIERCE, representing himself Kasilof, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Supported Mr. Maw's confirmation to the Board of Fisheries. JOE CONNORS, representing himself Sterling, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed Mr. Maw's confirmation to the Board of Fisheries. DAN ANDERSON, representing himself Homer, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Supported Mr. Maw's confirmation to the Board of Fisheries. MONTE ROBERTS, representing himself Soldotna, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed Mr. Maw's confirmation to the Board of Fisheries. GARLAND BLANCHARD, representing himself Homer, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Supported Mr. Maw's confirmation to the Board of Fisheries. FRED STURMAN, representing himself Soldotna, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Supported Mr. Maw's confirmation to the Board of Fisheries. TEAGUE VANECK, representing himself Homer and Ninilchik, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Supported Mr. Maw's confirmation to the Board of Fisheries. JEFF BEAUDOIN, representing himself Kasilof, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Supported Mr. Maw's confirmation to the Board of Fisheries. IAN PITZMAN, representing himself Homer, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Supported Mr. Maw's confirmation to the Board of Fisheries. DAVE MARTIN, representing himself Clam Gulch, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Supported Mr. Maw's confirmation to the Board of Fisheries. ACTION NARRATIVE 3:29:49 PM  CHAIR CATHY GIESSEL called the Senate Resources Standing Committee meeting to order at 3:29 p.m. Present at the call to order were Senators Costello, Wielechowski, Coghill, Stedman, and Chair Giessel. HJR 9-ENDORSING ANWR LEASING  3:30:58 PM CHAIR GIESSEL announced HJR 9 to be up for consideration. 3:31:08 PM SENATOR COSTELLO moved to bring SCS HJR 9(RES), version 29- LS0408\H, before the committee as the working document. CHAIR GIESSEL objected for discussion purposes. She said there are two changes. The first change was on page 1, lines 8-11, to more specifically cite the provisions of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. The second change was also on page 1, lines 12-14, that specifically cites the status and purpose of the Coastal Plain in ANILCA. 3:32:18 PM SENATOR MICCICHE joined the committee. SENATOR STOLTZE joined the committee. REPRESENTATIVE TALERICO, Sponsor of HJR 9, said he approved of the changes in the committee substitute (CS) and was available for questions. CHAIR GIESSEL removed her objection and SCS HJR 9(RES), version 29-LS0408\H, was adopted. 3:33:36 PM ROBERTA HIGHLAND, representing herself, Homer, Alaska started with the following quote from John Schwieder: Wild Alaska's continued existence is at the discretion, grace, and humility of humans. I pray Alaska remains a beacon, a geography of hope, not only for wild-eyed wilderness seekers, but for the future generations as proof that humans truly believe that all living creatures are connected. She urged them to show the leadership that is needed to get out of the crisis the state is in. Thousands of Alaskans continue to want to have the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) remain a refuge. 3:36:27 PM CHAIR GIESSEL, finding no further comments, closed public testimony. 3:36:40 PM SENATOR COGHILL said there is a wildlife refuge and a wilderness refuge and the wilderness refuge is overtaking the wildlife refuge. It's only reasonable that the federal government would allow the 1002 area to be at least looked at with some degree of exploration. 3:38:03 PM SENATOR COSTELLO moved to report SCS HJR 9 (RES) from committee with individual recommendations and attached zero fiscal note. There were no objections and it was so ordered. 3:38:34 PM At ease from 3:38 to 3:39 p.m. 3:39:55 PM ^CONFIRMATION HEARING: Board of Fisheries, Dr. Roland Maw CONFIRMATION HEARING  Board of Fisheries  3:40:01 PM CHAIR GIESSEL called the meeting back to order and invited Dr. Maw to the table and asked him to relate his qualifications for this position and why he wanted to continue serving on the Board of Fisheries. She reviewed the boards and commissions fact sheet on the Board of Fisheries appointments. They require legislative confirmation and financial disclosure. The board is made up of seven members that are appointed on the basis of interest in public affairs, good judgment, knowledge and the ability in the fields of action of the board and with a view to providing diversity of interests and points of view in the membership. They have to be residents of the state and are appointed without regard to political affiliation. The appointments typically begin on July 1; this appointment is for the remainder of a previous board member's term (now until July 30) as well as a new three-year term starting on July 1. The members of the Board of Fisheries receive standard travel and per diem reimbursement. 3:41:28 PM ROLAND MAW, Board of Fisheries appointee, Kasilof, Alaska, said he started on the academic side as a pre-med student and changed to getting a combination degree in zoology and botany. He spent a year of graduate studies at Utah State University in wildlife management and was ranked in the top three or four students in a class of 80. He went on to Brigham Young University and finished with a Masters of Education. After teaching for a while in colleges and universities, he decided to do a Doctorate and was accepted at the University of Alberta in Canada that required spending two years in residency taking courses, but he was allowed to do it in one, because he was on just a one-year sabbatical. He graduated with a 3.95 grade point average. He did his doctoral dissertation on the management of black and grizzly bears in the national parks of Canada. MR. MAW said his business side includes having lived "the Alaska dream." He came to Alaska as a young man and started unloading salmon on the slime line, went to managing the dock and then being a part-owner in a boat, then owner of a couple of boats, buying a permit and buying another permit for his son. He currently owns two boats and his granddaughter has the permit. He said he was not here to destroy the Alaska dream for anybody. 3:46:26 PM MR. MAW said Alaska has done five things right: 1. From the very beginning the state practiced escapement goal management that hopefully leads to high sustained yields. 2. Passing the Magnuson Stevens Act of 1976 that took the foreign bottoms that were catching large numbers of returning salmon in U.S. water and let those fish come back, which provided the basis for establishing escapement goals. 3. They asked that the local area management biologists to make the decisions and have the boots on the ground. Regional advisory committees were established. 4. Developed management plans that are right for the fish and right for society. Balancing those two is what occurs at the Board of Fisheries. 5. Development of private, non-profit hatcheries across the state. He has heard that about 25 percent of the salmon harvest currently comes from these hatcheries. MR. MAW said he has no intention of upsetting any of these five items. The seafood harvest of all species including crab in 2013 amounted to $4.5 billion, not including the recreational sector that represents maybe another billion or so. It's important for Alaska that all segments of that industry be strong and healthy. SENATOR COGHILL thanked him for saying "okay" to the governor when he asked him to serve, and said Mr. Maw had been a very tenacious supporter of the Cook Inlet fish world, especially the commercial aspect of it and his several lawsuits will become his entire focus in life. Some of his constituents were worried about how those lawsuits will affect decisions he will make on the Northern end and he asked him to comment on that. MR. MAW explained that his former employer, United Cook Inlet Drift Association (UCIDA), is a [non-profit] corporation [He originally said for-profit, but corrected it later in the meeting]. It is organized with nine people on the board elected by the membership who are permit holders. The board elects its own officers. At no time was he an officer or director of that corporation. He was its employee; he didn't have a vote on any issue, but he participated. Had he not had that employment it wouldn't be an issue. He used his past experience, even while employed by UCIDA, to work in internationally protecting Alaska's rights and fish on the high seas. MR. MAW said the only requirement he had in the original interview with UCIDA was that he wasn't going to do anything that wasn't biologically sound. If anything went outside of that parameter, he wasn't going to do it, and he pretty well held true to that. His personal comments have always been founded in science. SENATOR COGHILL asked, based on what he knew and learned from the world that has to live up-river from all the commercial fishing guys, if Mr. Maw could stand up for them. Their concerns are escapement and personal use, and to some degree, subsistence use - just the fish getting up there. 3:55:40 PM MR. MAW responded that an allocation issue is one kind of argument, but he has always been dedicated to appropriate escapement goal management. For example, in 2008 in the Mat-Su Valley the Board of Fisheries took up the stock of yield concern for Susitna sockeye. He supported that for one reason: they didn't have a good understanding of why those fish were declining. A committee of members from the department and the board was funded over $10 million to figure it out. This included some money out of his own pocket through the aquaculture association. He was the one who made the motion. MR. MAW said he has a history of saying "no" to his own user group. For instance, another big issue was spotter planes, and in the end he went against some of his fellow fishermen then, too. SENATOR COGHILL thanked him for those good candid answers and said it looks like because of the depth of his knowledge and experience that he could recuse himself from those decisions he is involved in. MR. MAW responded that discussion was scheduled with the Department of Law and Ethics on Friday of this week. He knew that it had happened in the past. SENATOR COGHILL said he wanted follow up on that issue. 3:59:05 PM SENATOR STOLTZE asked Mr. Maw's position on UCIDA litigation, both past and present, on dip net fisheries and bringing in federal management. MR. MAW answered that he read through the current litigation a number of times and found no reference to personal use, dip net, sport or guided issues in the case before the Ninth Circuit Court. CONFIRMATION HEARING: Board of Fisheries, Dr. Roland Maw He explained that half of Cook Inlet is open to drift gillnetting in what is called the federal exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and half of it is in state waters, the result of the "Gerhard Shroeder line" case that the State of Alaska brought against the federal government over oil and gas issues as to where federal waters end and state waters begin (12 miles or 3 miles). The Supreme Court decided that south of a line that runs roughly from Ninilchik over toward the bottom of Kalgan Island is federal waters to be managed under the Magnuson Stevens Act). The area north of that line is managed as state waters. His understanding of this case was that UCIDA was asking the federal government to just help with some of the management issues in Cook Inlet. 4:02:35 PM Part of the discussion dealt with some allegations that folks out of the Kodiak area and other places were catching "our" fish and UCIDA asked the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council to do a genetic analysis of the fish being caught to see where their streams of origin were. That's all they asked for. They found that less than 10 percent of those fish were of Cook Inlet origin. So, now people don't know what is causing the king salmon decline and all UCIDA was asking for was a hand in trying to understand those problems. No management was asked for or anticipated. SENATOR STOLTZE said the court case he read the document on began with: "I, Roland Maw, attest as the litigant..." and he was surprised that Mr. Maw couldn't relate more about it. 4:05:01 PM SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said the complaint in paragraph 66 on page 18 was of the lawsuit that Senator Stoltze was just referring to said: "State management in Cook Inlet has destabilized the fishery." Paragraph 67 of the lawsuit says: Some of these declines are attributable to allocation issues. Most are the result of long term declines in total salmon runs to the Inlet or management decisions that allow a significant harvestable surplus to go unharvested. Then paragraph 68 says: One such management decision is a growing trend towards terminalizing the drift fishery that is directing fishing near to shore and near to the mouth of the rivers. He said that decision was made by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) and the Board of Fisheries over the years to help out dip netters, and he asked Mr. Maw if that was a fair statement. MR. MAW responded that he would not characterize it that way. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked Mr. Maw if he stated he wasn't going to do anything that is not biologically sound at UCIDA. MR. MAW answered yes. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if he agreed that all the UCIDA proposals put forward while he was there were all biologically sound. MR. MAW answered no; some were "straight allocative." SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked him to explain the rationale for proposal 174 in 2011 to allow non-residents to participate in the Upper Cook Inlet personal use fishery. MR. MAW answered in just about every other aspect of recreational fishing there is a provision for non-resident participation with a higher fee structure, permits, or drawings, except for the personal use one. The board had an opportunity to look at that and it chose not to. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if he thinks it's appropriate to allow non-residents to participate in the Upper Cook Inlet personal use fishery. He has a lot of constituents who are dip net, personal use and sport fishermen, and he was very concerned about a proposal that allows non-residents to dip net and take fish that would otherwise go to Alaskans. 4:09:25 PM MR. MAW explained that when the dip net fishery first appeared in the Kenai years ago, UCIDA was told it was only to be practiced to hold the escapements range down. But since then, many court and board decisions and laws have been made about how these fish are to be managed. The legal construct of what a personal use fishery is has changed over time, but in its present format, no, he would not open it up to non-residents. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked him to talk about his rationale for Proposal 179 in 2011, which would only open the Kenai and Kasilof dip net fisheries after the lower limit of the escapement goals is achieved. 4:10:55 PM MR. MAW responded that even though he was aware of those proposals, ultimately it's the board of directors and membership that put them forward, and he does not support that proposal. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked him to talk about Proposal 187 in 2011 where UCIDA proposed to reduce the number of fish that a household could take from 25-plus 10 fish for each additional household member down to 10 total. MR. MAW answered that Kenai River sockeyes are managed differently than just about any other river in the state in that there are three tiers. The tiers are based on the run size. If the Kenai return is less than 2.3 million (small), there is one set of management strategies; between 2.3 million and 4.6 million there is a different set of management strategies and then from 4.6 and above there is a different strategy. In today's context, if the Kenai return is less than 2.3 million, that is basically telling them this run is starting to get into trouble. At that point, it's appropriate for everyone to lower their expectations. If the run is in the middle tier, then everything is fine, and that is where most of the runs occur. When the return is 8 or 9 million fish, then all user groups need to be able to increase their harvest. It's a conservation issue. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said Proposal 187 wasn't a conservation issue, because in it he said that most personal use individuals do not harvest anywhere near the maximum number of fish currently allowed, and he recommendation reducing the annual limit to 10 salmon per household annually. If nothing was done he said, "Present annual limits encourage excessive harvest beyond actual food needs." He doesn't talk about conserving the fish; he was just concerned about people taking more fish than they need. MR. MAW responded that that concept had two or three proposals around it and one was on the concept of conservation. The average household harvest of Kenai sockeye is around 12 or 13 fish. If that was the average people were taking, the proposal simply suggested making that the limit for the middle tier. 4:15:08 PM SENATOR MICCICHE asked why he believed the fishery was terminalized. MR. MAW recalled that the action was to provide for passage of fish into the Mat-Su (the corridor concept); it didn't have to do with personal use or dip netting. 4:17:05 PM SENATOR MICCICHE said most people are in Alaska because of its outdoor opportunities, but those opportunities are different than 30 years ago and much different than 40 years ago. The supplies of fish and game is not keeping up with demand and people are not coming together on these issues. He asked Mr. Maw if he, as a Board of Fisheries member, saw any potential for making it better. MR. MAW answered that casting blame will almost certainly stop getting to a better future. He did it once, but he has stopped now and asked that others stop, too. No one is supposed to win in the fine art of compromise. SENATOR COSTELLO asked how his relationship is with the Board of Fisheries. MR. MAW answered "just fine," although he hadn't heard from two members. 4:20:23 PM SENATOR MICCICHE said a new user group is impacting existing challenges on the main stem of the Kenai and that these issues will only grow as the population of Alaska increases. He asked Mr. Maw how those issues can be managed. MR. MAW answered that an honest dialogue - good people setting down and talking - is a first step. He had not done that with the people in Ninilchik, Cooper Landing, Hope or Moose Pass. They had some issue they felt needed to be resolved and went and got the allocation. He didn't know how that will be worked into the day-to-day management of the fishery, but it will have to be figured out somehow. 4:24:14 PM SENATOR COGHILL said he is kid of the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers and folks have to deal with the Canadian Compact. The ocean is the bounty for most, but people on the rivers are counting fish in the hundreds instead of millions. No one knows what happens to the fish when they get out there and mingle, but the counting at the mouth of the Yukon River, with El Nino, has changed to some degree. Is that something he has pondered? It has to do with different species of salmon, but it also has to do with their grayling fisheries, which people are counting on to sport fish. MR. MAW said he served on the North Pacific Anadromous Commission, a treaty between Canada, the United States, Russia, Japan and Korea, and it has three main functions: to work out the science on high seas (beyond 200 miles), to do enforcement out there so people don't poach, and handling the finances. He worked on the enforcement committee and the science committee. The science some of these other countries are doing might embarrass the U.S., he said. Russia is developing huge hatcheries. Their harvest one year was 500,000 metric tons, and all of North America for that same year was 350,000 metric tons. The Russian research actually followed those fish from the time they left the river, during the winter time - sampling and watching their growth - until those fish came back as adults. They know where those fish were and what they were eating, their diseases and their predators. The U.S. has never done anything like that. He has often wondered that the Kuskokwim and the Yukon have been struggling for a quarter century and they still don't know how those fish make their living out in the ocean. 4:29:53 PM CHAIR GIESSEL opened public testimony. 4:30:39 PM PAUL SHADURA, South K-Beach Independent Fishermen's Association, Soldotna, Alaska* supported Mr. Maw's appointment to the Board of Fisheries. He said "It is the nature of the Alaskan way of life to be passionate in how our resources are managed." "Conservation" in the Alaska context means "controlled utilization of a given resource." The statute governing Board of Fisheries appointments states a need to choose individuals who have an interest in public affairs, good judgment, knowledgeable, an ability in the field of action of the board and with a view of providing diversity of interest and points of view in the membership. Clearly, Mr. Maw represents these qualities. He said too often the board is viewed as a chess game and individuals are placed on it that are not skilled. But this is not a game. The board's actions deeply affect peoples' lives. Acknowledging a valid question and having a debate on what is best for the successful harvestable return in which the department is openly engage is what is important. Mr. Maw has a firm belief in science-based resource management, although he has a lengthy tenure as a Cook Inlet commercial fisherman and executive director of UCIDA. He is known for objectivity and sincere appreciation and recognition of the importance of sport, personal use and subsistence fisheries to Alaskans. No one had ever been better qualified than Mr. Maw to serve on the board. 4:37:14 PM ARNI THOMPSON, Executive Director, Alaska Salmon Alliance, Anchorage, Alaska, supported Mr. Maw's confirmation to the Board of Fisheries. There are over 3,000 commercial fishing families in this region and each of those families is a small business entity. They are an important part of Southcentral Alaska. Five ports in this region - Cordova, Seward, Kenai, Valdez and Homer - brought in $241 million in ex-vessel revenue alone, not including the wholesale value of the fisheries. If all the fisheries were combined, this region would be ranked as number two in terms of fishing ports. 4:38:06 PM CHRIS GARCIA, representing himself, Kenai, Alaska supported Mr. Maw's confirmation to the Board of Fisheries. GARY STEVENS, Alaska Outdoor Council (AOC) Chugiak, Alaska opposed Mr. Maw's confirmation to the Board of Fisheries, because he wants to involve the federal government in management of the state's natural resources. WES HUMBYRD, representing himself, Homer, Alaska* supported Mr. Maw's confirmation to the Board of Fisheries. He said he had known Mr. Maw for many years; he is very knowledgeable about all aspects of the fishing industry. He holds a firm belief that biology and science are the most important considerations in fish management. There hasn't been a commercial fishing representative from Cook Inlet on the board since 1980. People are spreading false rumors about Mr. Maw. who won't be caught up in political cronyism. 4:39:25 PM GEORGE PIERCE, representing himself, Kasilof, Alaska, supported Mr. Maw's confirmation to the Board of Fisheries. He said the current BOF has created this mess and it's time for a change, he said. Science and biologists are needed on this board, not buddies. 4:40:32 PM JOE CONNORS, representing himself, Sterling, Alaska, opposed Mr. Maw's confirmation to the Board of Fisheries, citing a commercial violation with Mr. Maw's name on it. 4:41:40 PM DAN ANDERSON, representing himself, Homer, Alaska* supported Mr. Maw's confirmation to the Board of Fisheries. He has known Mr. Maw for 20 years. He is very knowledgeable on fisheries science issues and is very well qualified to keep personal objectives and political opinion away from his decisions. He uses the best available science to manage any resource. 4:42:37 PM MONTE ROBERTS, representing himself, Soldotna, Alaska, opposed Mr. Maw's confirmation to the Board of Fisheries. 4:43:18 PM GARLAND BLANCHARD, representing himself, Homer, Alaska supported Mr. Maw's confirmation to the Board of Fisheries. He totally supports maximum sustainable yield for all user groups in Alaska. 4:43:47 PM FRED STURMAN, representing himself, Soldotna, Alaska, supported Mr. Maw's confirmation to the Board of Fisheries. He had known Mr. Maw for quite a few years and thinks he will be very good on the board. 4:44:09 PM TEAGUE VANECK, representing himself, Homer and Ninilchik, Alaska supported Mr. Maw's confirmation to the Board of Fisheries. He had fished his whole life in Cook Inlet as a drift fisherman and they have not had anyone with a commercial fishing background in Cook Inlet on the board. He has been there many times to testify and watch the proceedings and it is very frustrating to speak with people that are "just clueless" about some of the issues that area faces. 4:45:18 PM JEFF BEAUDOIN, representing himself, Kasilof, Alaska, supported Mr. Maw's confirmation to the Board of Fisheries. He had known Mr. Maw since 2002. Mr. Maw has biological management experience; he looks at the data set and knows how to construct the issues and has an even temperament in doing it. He has a balanced approach and understands sustainable salmon fisheries and escapement goal policies and mixed-stock salmon fisheries. He can elevate the discussion, as per the Alaska Constitution and the Administrative Procedures Act, for the board's deliberation process. 4:47:35 PM IAN PITZMAN, representing himself, Homer, Alaska, supported Mr. Maw's confirmation to the Board of Fisheries. He said Mr. Maw is a man of science and the UCIDA meetings often turn into fisheries science lectures. Mr. Maw has held that focus during his term as UCIDA executive director and he would do so at the Board of Fisheries. The way he sees it, Governor Walker replaced a lawyer with a fisheries scientist, which is a step in the right direction. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if Mr. Maw was instrumental in crafting most of the proposals that were forwarded by UCIDA. MR. PITZMAN said he didn't know. 4:49:12 PM DAVE MARTIN, representing himself, Clam Gulch, Alaska supported Mr. Maw's confirmation to the Board of Fisheries. He always puts science and the resource first. The Board of Fisheries criteria are well met by Mr. Maw. CHAIR GIESSEL thanked everyone for their comments and acknowledged others on line; she said she will take up the hearing again at the beginning of Friday's meeting. 4:52:05 PM CHAIR GIESSEL adjourned the Senate Resources Committee meeting at 4:52 p.m.