Read the full stored bill text
Enrolled HB 117
LAWS OF ALASKA
2026
Source Chapter No.
SCS CSHB 117(RES) _______
AN ACT
Relating to electronic monitoring of fishing vessels using trawl gear in a finfish fishery;
relating to administrative areas for regulation of certain commercial set net entry permits; and
providing for an effective date.
_______________
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:
THE ACT FOLLOWS ON PAGE 1
-1- Enrolled HB 117
AN ACT
Relating to electronic monitoring of fishing vessels using trawl gear in a finfish fishery; 1
relating to administrative areas for regulation of certain commercial set net entry permits; and 2
providing for an effective date. 3
_______________ 4
* Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 5
to read: 6
LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. The Alaska State Legislature finds that it is in the public 7
interest to establish a new administrative area on the east side of Cook Inlet. 8
* Sec. 2. AS 16.05.050(a) is amended to read: 9
(a) The commissioner has, but not by way of limitation, the following powers 10
and duties: 11
(1) through the appropriate state agency and under the provisions of 12
AS 36.30 (State Procurement Code), to acquire by gift, purchase, or lease, or other 13
lawful means, land, buildings, water, rights-of-way, or other necessary or proper real 14
Enrolled HB 117 -2-
or personal property when the acquisition is in the interest of furthering an objective or 1
purpose of the department and the state; 2
(2) under the provisions of AS 36.30, to design and construct 3
hatcheries, pipelines, rearing ponds, fishways, and other projects beneficial for the fish 4
and game resources of the state; 5
(3) to accept money from any person under conditions requiring the 6
use of the money for specific purposes in the furtherance of the protection, 7
rehabilitation, propagation, preservation, or investigation of the fish and game 8
resources of the state or in settlement of claims for damages to fish or game resources; 9
(4) to collect, classify, and disseminate statistics, data and information 10
that, in the commissioner's discretion, will tend to promote the purposes of this title 11
except AS 16.51 and AS 16.52; 12
(5) to take, capture, propagate, transport, buy, sell, or exchange fish or 13
game or eggs for propagating, scientific, public safety, or stocking purposes; 14
(6) under the provisions of AS 36.30, to provide public facilities where 15
necessary or proper to facilitate the taking of fish or game, and to enter into 16
cooperative agreements with any person to effect them; 17
(7) to exercise administrative, budgeting, and fiscal powers; 18
(8) under the provisions of AS 36.30, to construct, operate, supervise, 19
and maintain vessels used by the department; 20
(9) to authorize the holder of an interim-use permit under AS 16.43 to 21
engage on an experimental basis in commercial taking of a fishery resource with 22
vessel, gear, and techniques not presently qualifying for licensing under this chapter in 23
conformity with standards established by the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry 24
Commission; 25
(10) not later than January 31 of each year, to provide to the 26
commissioner of revenue the names of those fish and shellfish species that the 27
commissioner of fish and game designates as developing commercial fish species for 28
that calendar year; a fish or shellfish species is a developing commercial fish species 29
if, within a specified geographical region, 30
(A) the optimum yield from the harvest of the species has not 31
-3- Enrolled HB 117
been reached; 1
(B) a substantial portion of the allowable harvest of the species 2
has been allocated to fishing vessels of a foreign nation; or 3
(C) a commercial harvest of the fish species has recently 4
developed; 5
(11) to initiate or conduct research necessary or advisable to carry out 6
the purposes of this title except AS 16.51 and AS 16.52; 7
(12) to enter into cooperative agreements with agencies of the federal 8
government, educational institutions, or other agencies or organizations, when in the 9
public interest, to carry out the purposes of this title except AS 16.51 and AS 16.52; 10
(13) to implement an on-board observer program authorized by the 11
Board of Fisheries under AS 16.05.251(a)(13); implementation 12
(A) must be as unintrusive to vessel operations as practicable; 13
and 14
(B) must make scheduling and scope of observers' activities as 15
predictable as practicable; 16
(14) to sell fish caught during commercial fisheries test fishing 17
operations; 18
(15) to establish and charge fees equal to the cost of services provided 19
by the department, including provision of public shooting ranges, broodstock and eggs 20
for private nonprofit hatcheries, department publications, and other direct services, and 21
reasonable fees for the use of state facilities managed by the department; fees 22
established under this paragraph for tours of hatchery facilities, commercial use of 23
sport fishing access sites, and for operation of state hatchery facilities by private 24
aquaculture associations are not subject to the cost limit under AS 37.10.050(a); 25
(16) to permit and regulate aquatic farming in the state in a manner 26
that ensures the protection of the state's fish and game resources and improves the 27
economy, health, and well-being of the citizens of the state; 28
(17) to operate state housing and facilities for employees, contractors, 29
and others in support of the department's responsibilities and to charge rent that is 30
consistent with applicable collective bargaining agreements, or, if no collective 31
Enrolled HB 117 -4-
bargaining agreement is applicable, competitive with market conditions; rent received 1
from tenants shall be deposited in the general fund; 2
(18) to petition the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission, 3
unless the Board of Fisheries disapproves the petition under AS 16.05.251(g), to 4
establish a moratorium on new entrants into commercial fisheries 5
(A) that have experienced recent increases in fishing effort that 6
are beyond a low, sporadic level of effort; 7
(B) that have achieved a level of harvest that may be 8
approaching or exceeding the maximum sustainable level for the fishery; and 9
(C) for which there is insufficient biological and resource 10
management information necessary to promote the conservation and sustained 11
yield management of the fishery; 12
(19) to promote fishing, hunting, and trapping and preserve the 13
heritage of fishing, hunting, and trapping in the state; 14
(20) to require a vessel registered under AS 16.05.475 to 15
participate in an electronic monitoring program for a state commercial finfish 16
trawl fishery; however, before implementing an electronic monitoring program 17
in a finfish trawl fishery, the commissioner shall determine in writing that 18
(A) vessels active in the fishery already have electronic 19
monitoring systems onboard because the vessels also participate in a 20
federal fishery managed under 50 C.F.R. Part 679 in the Bering Sea, 21
Aleutian Islands, or the Gulf of Alaska that requires electronic 22
monitoring; 23
(B) implementation of an electronic monitoring program in 24
the fishery will not require a vessel owner to purchase or install electronic 25
monitoring equipment beyond what is already required for the vessel to 26
participate in the federally managed fishery; and 27
(C) electronic monitoring 28
(i) is a practical tool for data gathering or 29
enforcement in that fishery; 30
(ii) will not unduly disrupt the fishery; 31
-5- Enrolled HB 117
(iii) can be conducted at a reasonable cost; and 1
(iv) can be coordinated with electronic monitoring 2
programs of the federal National Marine Fisheries Service and 3
other state and federal agencies. 4
* Sec. 3. AS 16.05.050 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 5
(c) The commissioner may not levy an assessment or other charge on 6
participating commercial fishers to fund the costs of implementing or operating an 7
electronic monitoring program in a fishery under (a)(20) of this section. 8
* Sec. 4. AS 16.43.200 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 9
(c) Notwithstanding (a) and (b) of this section, for the purposes of issuing 10
entry permits and controlling entry into the commercial set net fishery on the east side 11
of Cook Inlet, the commission shall establish the area administered on December 31, 12
2024, and identified by the Department of Fish and Game as of January 1, 2024, as 13
statistical areas 244-21, 244-22, 244-31, 244-32, 244-41, and 244-42 of the Upper 14
Subdistrict of the Cook Inlet Central District as a distinct administrative area separate 15
from the Cook Inlet administrative area. 16
(d) An entry permit that entitled a person to set net commercially in the area 17
that was administered on December 31, 2024, by the commission as the Cook Inlet 18
administrative area does not entitle that person to set net commercially in the 19
administrative area established under (c) of this section unless the commission 20
reassigns the permit to that administrative area. 21
* Sec. 5. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 22
read: 23
TRANSITION: REGULATIONS. The Department of Fish and Game may adopt 24
regulations necessary to implement the changes made by secs. 2 and 3 of this Act. The 25
regulations take effect under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act), but not before the 26
effective date of the law implemented by the regulation. 27
* Sec. 6. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 28
read: 29
TRANSITION: REASSIGNMENT OF CERTAIN COOK INLET AREA SET NET 30
ENTRY PERMITS. (a) On January 1, 2027, an individual holding an entry permit that entitles 31
Enrolled HB 117 -6-
the individual to commercially set net in the Cook Inlet administrative area may have the 1
individual's entry permit renewed as an entry permit for the Cook Inlet set net administrative 2
area under AS 16.43.150(c), consistent with the boundaries of that administrative area 3
established under AS 16.43.200, as amended by sec. 4 of this Act, unless the individual 4
provides proof satisfactory to the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission of the 5
individual's participation, or, if the individual acquired the individual's entry permit from an 6
immediate family member, of the immediate family member's participation, in the fishery in 7
the areas identified by the Department of Fish and Game as of January 1, 2024, as statistical 8
areas 244-21, 244-22, 244-31, 244-32, 244-41, and 244-42 of the Upper Subdistrict of the 9
Cook Inlet Central District within the five years preceding December 31, 2024. Proof 10
satisfactory of participation under this subsection may include a shore fisheries lease, an area 11
registration, a buoy tag, or previous submission of fishing statistics for the area. 12
(b) An individual who provides proof satisfactory to the Alaska Commercial Fisheries 13
Entry Commission of the individual's participation in the fishery in the areas identified by the 14
Department of Fish and Game as of January 1, 2024, as statistical areas 244-21, 244-22, 244-15
31, 244-32, 244-41, and 244-42 of the Upper Subdistrict of the Cook Inlet Central District 16
under (a) of this section shall be reassigned an entry permit on January 1, 2027, for the new 17
administrative area established under AS 16.43.200(c), enacted by sec. 4 of this Act. 18
(c) In this section, "immediate family member" means 19
(1) the spouse of an individual; 20
(2) another individual cohabiting with an individual in a conjugal relationship 21
that is not a legal marriage; 22
(3) a child, including a stepchild or an adopted child, of an individual; 23
(4) a parent, sibling, grandparent, aunt, or uncle of an individual; and 24
(5) a parent or sibling of an individual's spouse. 25
* Sec. 7. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 26
read: 27
TRANSITION: APPEAL OF COMMISSION DECISION NOT TO ASSIGN AN 28
APPLICANT'S PERMIT TO NEW ADMINISTRATIVE AREA. (a) An individual may 29
appeal a decision by the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission to renew the entry 30
permit held by the individual that allows the individual to commercially fish in the Cook Inlet 31
-7- Enrolled HB 117
administrative area, as the area's boundaries are amended by AS 16.43.200(c), enacted by sec. 1
4 of this Act, instead of issuing the individual an entry permit for the administrative area 2
established by AS 16.43.200(c), enacted by sec. 4 of this Act. An appeal under this section 3
must be made to the superior court on or before March 1, 2027. 4
(b) The commission shall provide to an individual who is appealing a decision of the 5
commission under this section a provisional entry permit for the administrative area 6
established by AS 16.43.200(c), enacted by sec. 4 of this Act. 7
* Sec. 8. Section 5 of this Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c). 8
* Sec. 9. Except as provided in sec. 8 of this Act, this Act takes effect January 1, 2027. 9