Session: State Capitol, Room 13 Juneau, AK 99801-1182 Phone: (907) 465-2689 Fax: (907) 465-3472 Interim: 345 W. Sterling Hwy. Suite 102B Homer, AK 99603 Phone: (907) 235-2921 Fax: (907) 235-4008

Sponsor Statement for HB 216
Board of Fisheries Meetings/Emergency Orders

An Act relating to the emergency order authority of the commissioner of fish and game and to meetings of the Board of Fisheries.

When the Legislature created the Board of Fisheries, it delegated to it specific rule-making powers. The Legislature protected the limits of these powers by vesting the Department of Fish and Game with statutes that guaranteed decision-making based upon sustained yield and conservation. The Legislature provided all the checks and balances through statute to facilitate a responsible public process and protection of the fishery resources.

Through statutes and appropriations, the Legislature enables the Department of Fish and Game to develop the science necessary for identification of conservation and sustained yield issues. Because the Board of Fisheries is comprised of lay members, the Department of Fish and Game is better able to determine critical fishery decisions on a day-to-day basis.

House Bill 216 clarifies two of the areas the Legislature has defined for the Board of Fisheries. The first management tool provides the flexibility necessary for issuing emergency orders during times of surplus harvest. This tool is especially necessary now with the federal co-management system that now exists in our state.

The second change adds the boards own regulatory language of agenda procedures, and adds concurrence with the ADF&G to determine what constitutes a legitimate conservation concern.

Providing the public with an amenable process is what the Legislature intended when it created the Board's governing statutes. The House Resources Committee respectfully requests the support of our colleagues in clarifying this vital public process as outlined in House Bill 216.

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