The Alaska Senate Resources Committee heard two bills Monday, advancing a measure to preserve traditional setnet fishing practices while setting aside a land transfer proposal pending additional information.
The committee heard House Bill 117, which would allow commercial setnet fishermen to continue operating cooperatively. The practice has existed since before statehood but recently faced enforcement challenges. The bill passed the House 39-0 and drew broad support from setnetters across Alaska, though some fishermen raised concerns about permit consolidation.
Representative Louise Stutes, who represents Kodiak, Cordova, Seward and several coastal communities, introduced the legislation. She said the bill addresses recent law enforcement interpretations that would require setnet permit holders to keep fish separate and deliver individually. She called those requirements unsafe and impractical for small-skiff operations.
"This legislation, which was brought forward by concerned stakeholders from across the state, seeks to preserve the traditional model for salmon setnet operations by continuing to allow small groups, often families in rural Alaska, to work cooperatively, commingle their fish, and have one or several permit holders deliver on behalf of the group," Stutes said.
The bill comes after enforcement actions in 2024 that highlighted conflicts between longstanding cooperative practices and statutory requirements for separate permit accounting. Alaska's limited entry system requires set gillnet permit holders to be physically present at the site and limits individuals to one permit with no more than two nets.
Matt Greening, staff to Stutes and the House Resources Committee, explained that setnet skiffs are small vessels operating in rough waters with limited hold space. Permit holders often include children and elderly family members. Requiring separate accounting and delivery for each permit would create safety risks and logistical challenges that could make many operations economically unviable, he said.
The bill requires cooperatives to register with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and directs the Board of Fisheries to establish regulations for each fishing area, including maximum permit numbers per cooperative, catch accounting procedures, and liability rules. Greening said the maximum number would likely be higher in areas like Kodiak and lower in Bristol Bay, reflecting different operational characteristics.
Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang of the Department of Fish and Game supported the bill, saying it would allow longstanding practices to continue while providing better data than the department currently receives. He noted that enforcement actions in 2024 brought to light the conflict between actual field operations and statute.
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"The basic foundation of Alaska's limited entry program is that the owner of a permit is the person fishing the permit and delivering the catch," Vincent-Lang said. "Over time, some of Alaska's setnet fisheries have operated as multi-permit cooperatives. In some cases, these have operated for decades."
The department submitted a zero fiscal note, indicating no costs to implement the bill.
Multiple setnet fishermen testified in support of the bill, describing how cooperative operations are essential for safety, fish quality, and economic viability.
Adelia Myrick, president of the Northwest Setnetters Association representing Kodiak fishermen, said more than 70 percent of her association's fishing sites are cooperative operations involving multiple permit holders, usually family members.
"Setnet fisheries are some of the smallest-scale commercial fisheries in Alaska, and they are also among the most family-oriented," Myrick said. "The setnet sites are places where multiple generations work side by side, where children grow up on the beach and in the skiffs."
Loren Lehman, who has operated a setnet fishery in Cook Inlet for nearly 70 years, said his family runs a six-permit operation with up to 20 nets and four skiffs when fishing full gear. He said requiring separate accounting for each permit would be "impractical and perhaps impossible" with no benefit to the state.
Kevin Fisher, president of the Aleutak District Setnetters Association and a 37-year veteran of the fishery, said setnetters in his area work together in traditional sites and special opener areas where the Department of Fish and Game has determined that fish have met escapement goals.
"In Aleutak, we have decided it is better to work together and share what is caught than to fight with each other over a limited resource," Fisher said.
Jamie O'Connor, chair of the Ekuk Beach Fishermen's Association in Bristol Bay, supported the bill but said her association believes a cap of three permits per cooperative would be appropriate for Bristol Bay operations.
Two Bristol Bay fishermen testified with concerns about the bill, though neither represented setnet operations.
Robin Samuelson, a retired driftnet fisherman from Dillingham, opposed the bill, saying Bristol Bay has lost more than 50 percent of its drift and setnet permits to outside buyers. He said he knows permit holders with more than 10 setnet sites who do not fish them personally.
"I'm worried about the consolidation of permits into outsiders' hands," Samuelson said. "Our villages are hurting for money, they're hurting for employment. When a permit is sold, that permit is gone for good."
Jerry Liboff, also from Dillingham, said he found the bill confusing and suggested tabling it until next session to allow more local fishermen to review it. Fritz Johnson echoed concerns about unintended consequences.
Greening responded that the bill would not increase consolidation and might actually reduce it by requiring cooperatives to register with the department. He said the bill's regional approach, allowing the Board of Fisheries to set different permit caps for different areas, addresses concerns about one-size-fits-all regulation.
"To the extent that there may be some opposition in Bristol Bay, it's not from the setnetters," Greening said. "I think that there may be some sort of a gear dispute here, potentially between the drifters and the setnetters."
Major Aaron Frenzel, deputy director of Alaska Wildlife Troopers, said potential unintended consequences include cases where someone might sell fish under another person's permit to avoid child support obligations or permit fraud. He noted that fish transporter permits currently allow people to sell fish on behalf of others.
Casey Mapes, a 53-year veteran gillnetter from Yakutat, said the Child Support Enforcement Division had been the primary opponent when setnetters previously sought regulatory changes through the Board of Fisheries. He said only two people in Yakutat were on the child support enforcement list at the time.
"I don't see the need for all of our 177 gillnet permits in this area to have to suffer for those two possible people who might do something wrong," Mapes said.
Greening said the bill's requirement for cooperatives to register with the department and for the Board of Fisheries to establish catch accounting regulations would bring the issue into the open and provide better tracking than currently exists.
Senator Cathy Giessel, committee chair, asked Commissioner Vincent-Lang whether the bill could exempt Bristol Bay to address concerns raised by testifiers. The commissioner was not available to respond before the hearing concluded.
Giessel set an amendment deadline for 5 p.m. Monday and held public testimony open until Tuesday. The committee did not take action on the bill.
The committee also heard Senate Bill 255, introduced by Senator Rob Yunt, which would transfer six state-owned parcels totaling approximately 1,265 acres to the Matanuska-Susitna Borough without requiring surveys.
Yunt said the bill addresses two issues: identifying state parcels near infrastructure that could support growth and development, and revisiting surveying requirements that make land transfers cost-prohibitive. He said he hopes the bill will grow to include land transfers for other communities statewide.
Mike Brown, Mat-Su Borough manager, said surveying requirements make it uneconomical to transfer remote, lower-value land. He cited recent examples where surveying 2,000 acres cost $87,000 and surveying 3,200 acres cost more than $204,000.
"Within our borough are over 15.8 million acres of land," Brown said. "Of this land, nearly 94 percent is owned by the State of Alaska, 1 percent by the borough, and only 3 percent is privately held."
Nick Spiropoulos, Mat-Su Borough attorney, said the parcels could be described using aliquot parts or metes and bounds descriptions, which are accepted in private industry and insured by title companies. He said modern GPS and GIS technologies provide alternatives to physical surveys.
Senator Bert Stedman said he could not make a decision on the bill without hearing from the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development. He asked for an approximate value of the 1,265 acres being transferred, both in total and parcel by parcel.
Senator Click Bishop asked whether the borough would eventually need to survey the land for platting or planning purposes. Spiropoulos said the borough might survey portions if subdividing for further transfer, but would not necessarily survey entire parcels.
Senator Jesse Bjorkman asked about the Department of Natural Resources fiscal note, which expressed concern about future lawsuits over clouded title without surveys. Spiropoulos said the borough is not concerned because any property line dispute would require a resurvey regardless of whether an initial survey was done.
Giessel set the bill aside pending maps of the parcels, valuation information, and testimony from DNR and DCCED. The committee will meet again Monday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. to hear Senate Bill 280 on oil and gas property tax.
The Senate Resources Committee meeting adjourned at 10:29 a.m.
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