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HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 36
IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE - SECOND SESSION
BY THE HOUSE RESOURCES COMMITTEE
Introduced: 5/9/22
Referred: House Special Committee on Fisheries
A RESOLUTION
1 Urging the United States Congress to pass the Alaska Salmon Research Task Force Act.
2 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:
3 WHEREAS the state is home to five species of wild, sustainable Pacific salmon,
4 King, Coho, Sockeye, Pink, and Keta; and
5 WHEREAS subsistence fishing for salmon has sustained Alaska Native people for
6 thousands of years; and
7 WHEREAS recreational fishing for salmon is a lifelong pursuit for urban and rural
8 residents of the state, and commercial salmon fishing has been a mainstay industry in the state
9 for over a century; and
10 WHEREAS Alaska is the only state with a constitutional requirement that fishing be
11 managed on the sustained yield principle; and
12 WHEREAS Alaska accounts for over 90 percent of the commercial catch in the
13 United States, is the world's premier source of wild salmon, and accounts for 11 percent of the
14 world's commercial harvest of salmon; and
15 WHEREAS, from 2018 to 2021, salmon fisheries in the state accounted for 75
16 percent of the fishery disaster declarations for the state; and
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1 WHEREAS, in 2021, there were record low runs for many salmon species in western
2 regions of the state, while there were record high runs for sockeye salmon in Bristol Bay; and
3 WHEREAS those low runs of salmon led to a ban on subsistence fishing for certain
4 salmon species in rural communities and lower catch limits in other fisheries, which had
5 significant negative effects on communities that rely on salmon for subsistence and for which
6 fishing is a way of life; and
7 WHEREAS the state responsibly manages seafood using a world-class, science-based
8 approach to help fish stocks, communities, and entire ecosystems thrive; and
9 WHEREAS sustainable seafood is the most environmentally efficient source of
10 protein on the planet, and seafood harvested in the state is managed using environmentally
11 responsible practices; and
12 WHEREAS approximately 95 percent of the state's food is imported, and sustainable
13 seafood is crucial not only to the food security of residents of the state, but is also a deeply
14 ingrained tradition; and
15 WHEREAS the Alaska Salmon Research Task Force that would be established by the
16 Alaska Salmon Research Task Force Act would create working groups to focus on specific
17 regions or fish stocks, including a working group focused specifically on salmon returns in the
18 Arctic, Yukon, and Kuskokwim regions of the state; and
19 WHEREAS the Alaska Salmon Research Task Force Act seeks to ensure that, for
20 Pacific salmon trends in the state, productivity and abundance are characterized, research
21 needs are identified, and a coordinated salmon research strategy is established;
22 BE IT RESOLVED that the Thirty-Second Alaska State Legislature respectfully
23 urges the United States Congress to pass S. 3429, the Alaska Salmon Research Task Force
24 Act, as introduced by Senator Dan Sullivan and Senator Lisa Murkowski.
25 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, President
26 of the United States; the Honorable Kamala D. Harris, Vice President of the United States and
27 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House of
28 Representatives; the Honorable Charles Schumer, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; and the
29 Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the U.S.
30 Representative for Alaska, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.
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