24th Legislature(2005-2006)
Bill Text 24th Legislature
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00 Enrolled HJR 15
01 Relating to open ocean aquaculture in the federal exclusive economic zone.
02 _______________
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:
04 WHEREAS Alaska wild fish stocks are healthy and sustainable, in large part due to a
05 strong gene pool and Alaska's history of sound fisheries management, clean water, and habitat
06 protection; and
07 WHEREAS Alaska commercial, subsistence, and recreational fisheries are managed
08 to achieve the state's constitutional mandate of sustained yield; and
09 WHEREAS the State of Alaska enacted legislation in 1990 to prohibit finfish farming
10 in state waters; and
11 WHEREAS there are numerous outstanding issues and concerns regarding the social,
12 economic, health, and environmental consequences of farmed fish, both in state and federal
13 waters; and
14 WHEREAS open net cage fish farming poses persistent risks to the health of the
15 marine resources of Alaska; and
16 WHEREAS there are patents pending to cultivate and introduce genetically modified
17 fish into open waters, which will pose a direct threat to wild stock fisheries; and
01 WHEREAS salmon farming has had severe economic impacts on coastal
02 communities in Alaska as demonstrated by significantly lower prices for wild salmon
03 fisheries products; and
04 WHEREAS Alaska coastal communities and fishing families rely on the health of
05 wild fish stocks for a strong economy; and
06 WHEREAS global markets increasingly demand natural seafood products harvested
07 sustainably from a clean environment; and
08 WHEREAS the seafood industry in Alaska has developed strong name recognition in
09 the marketplace for wild, natural, and healthy seafood products; and
10 WHEREAS successful seafood marketing depends on product differentiation, and
11 Alaska's untarnished name is its greatest asset in the global market; and
12 WHEREAS the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is promoting
13 legislation to permit open ocean aquaculture in federal waters from three to 200 miles
14 offshore of the states; and
15 WHEREAS the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
16 provides for input from fishermen and coastal communities through regional fishery
17 management councils; and
18 WHEREAS the proponents of federal open ocean aquaculture and members of the
19 ocean aquaculture industry have not satisfactorily demonstrated that this activity will not be
20 detrimental to the ocean resources and to the economy of Alaska coastal communities; and
21 WHEREAS Governor Frank H. Murkowski has proposed a five-year moratorium on
22 all permitting, leasing, or development of ocean pen-reared shellfish and finfish in the federal
23 exclusive economic zone off Alaska;
24 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature is committed to ensuring that
25 open ocean aquaculture does no harm to ecosystem integrity, to existing wild fisheries, or to
26 the social and economic well-being of Alaska coastal communities; and be it
27 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature opposes open ocean
28 aquaculture for finfish and predatory shellfish; and be it
29 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully urges
30 Congress to prohibit the issuance of any license to permit an aquaculture facility that imports,
31 exports, possesses, cultivates, sells, or otherwise handles genetically modified fish in the
01 federal exclusive economic zone or has access to open waters; and be it
02 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports the regional
03 fishery management councils under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
04 Management Act and respectfully requests that the councils be granted authority over any
05 proposals regarding open ocean aquaculture in federal waters; and be it
06 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the
07 United States Congress to require any federal proposal to authorize open ocean aquaculture in
08 the federal exclusive economic zone to undergo a legislative environmental impact statement,
09 as required by the National Environmental Policy Act.
10 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable George W. Bush, President
11 of the United States; the Honorable Ted Stevens, President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate
12 and member of the Alaska delegation in Congress; the Honorable J. Dennis Hastert, Speaker
13 of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable Carlos Gutierrez, United States Secretary
14 of Commerce; and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senator, and the Honorable Don
15 Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.
