Licensing

Overview

During 1996, staff in the licensing section became increasingly aware of the rapid rate of change and growing complexity of Alaska's fisheries and licensing requirements. Several years ago there were a few fairly simple, straightforward programs and rules to keep track of; now an increasing burden is placed upon licensing staff to keep up with the changes as the Commission limits additional fisheries, the legislature enacts fishery moratoriums and new types of permitting mechanisms, the Board of Fisheries adopts regulatory changes and federal agencies continue to develop moratoria, license limitation, IFQ and CDQ programs. As a primary contact for those involved with Alaska's fisheries, the licensing section strives to be informed and able to provide current, accurate information in response to inquiries and refer callers to appropriate sources for further information. Responding to information requests has become a major function of the section, and demands more staff time each year. To cope with increasing demands within budgetary constraints, the licensing section seeks to streamline procedures and automate processing whenever possible.

The total number of permits and vessel licenses issued for 1996 continued to decline as it has for several years. However, the number of vessels licensed did increase slightly over the previous year. The drop in the number of annual permits parallels a decrease in the number of fishers participating in Alaska's fisheries. The table below demonstrates changes in the number of fishers, permits and vessels licensed over the period 1991-1996.

Southeast Dive Fishery Moratorium

During 1996, the licensing section was involved in implementing a variety of new programs. The dive fisheries in Southeast Alaska which harvest abalone, geoduck, sea cucumber and sea urchin went under a moratorium which took effect mid-summer pursuant to HB 547. Procedures and application forms were developed for issuance of permits for the fall fisheries. Applications were mailed in mid-August to fishers known to be eligible to participate during the moratorium. Subsequently, the Department of Fish and Game determined the abalone fishery would remain closed, rather than opening in October as scheduled. Because of delays in approval of the sea urchin Fishery Management Plan, that fishery did not open until after the end of the year. Eligible divers were able to harvest geoduck and sea cucumbers during the fall fishery.

Bering Sea Korean Hair Crab Vessel Permit Moratorium

Legislation was enacted during 1996 which placed the Korean Hair crab fishery occurring beyond five miles from shore in the Bering Sea under a moratorium. The legislation specified vessel permits be issued to qualified vessels during the moratorium, creating an entirely new type of permit than any previously issued by the Commission. Historically, limited entry and interim-use permits are issued to the individual gear operator or skipper, rather than to the vessel owner. Application forms and procedures for administering the vessel permit program were developed over the summer and the first moratorium vessel permits were issued in September. A total of 18 Korean hair crab vessel permits were issued for the 1996 season.

PWS Sablefish Limitation

The first interim-use permits for the Prince William Sound sablefish fixed, net and pot gear fisheries were issued since the fishery was limited in 1995. This added a new complication to the fishery code system as these permits have vessel length restrictions incorporated in the fishery code. For example, in fishery code "C4AE" the C indicates sablefish, 4 indicates net gear, A indicates vessel length may be no greater than 90' overall and E indicates the area is Prince William Sound.

Southeast Dungeness Crab Limitation

A fishery code system was adopted for the Southeast dungeness crab pot fishery in which the tier indicating the number of pots authorized by the permit is part of the fishery code. In the D9AA fishery code, the first A indicates up to 300 pots may be fished; a D9DA permit allows only 75 pots to be fished (or 25% of the maximum pots allowed by the Board of Fisheries).

New Vessel License Fees

In accordance with HB 230 enacted during 1995, vessel license fees for 1996 were based upon the overall length of the vessel, rather than the flat $20 fee which had been in effect since the 1970s. There are now six categories of vessel license fees ranging from $20 to $750.

The number of requests for permanent and emergency transfer reviewed during 1996 totalled 1,931, slightly down from the 1995 level of 1,984. 1996 was the second consecutive year in which the number of emergency transfer requests declined; the total was 937 (compared to 946 in 1995 and 974 in 1994). Approximately 994 permanent transfer requests were reviewed during 1996, compared to 1,079 during 1995.

A breakdown of permanent transfer requests by type of transfer is shown below:

Regular Transfers	908
Survivorship Transfers to Spouse	30
Foreclosure Transfers by Loan Agencies	3
Total Approved		941
Denied Transfers	31
Withdrawn Transfer Requests	22
Total Reviewed		994

Of the 937 emergency transfer requests reviewed, 845 were approved on initial review, 81 were denied and 11 requests were withdrawn prior to a determination. Administrative hearings were requested by 38 of the denied applicants and following the hearings, 28 of those requests were granted, while 10 of the denials were upheld.

1996 vessel license application fees were based on overall length of vessels. Instead of the $20 fee which previously applied to all vessels, the new fee categories range from $20 for vessels 25' and under up to $750 for vessels over 250'. The number of vessels in each category and the revenue generated from license fees is shown below:

* Vessels counted in the "unknown" category include those renewed as "two year renewals" during 1994 and 1995; the owners had opted to renew for 1996 at the same time (and for the same fee) as the 1995 renewal so they were not subject to the new length categories.

Category	Number	Fee	Revenue
=======================	======	=====	========
Unknown *	1,139	$ 20	$ 22,780
A - 25' and under	6,298	$ 20	$ 125,960
B - over 25' - 50'	7,476	$ 50	$ 373,800
C - over 50' - 75'	891	$ 100	$ 89,100
D - over 75' - 150'	348	$ 250	$ 87,000
E - over 150' - 250'	124	$ 500	$ 62,000
F - over 250'	25	$ 750	$ 18,750
=======================	======	=====	========
Total	16,301		$ 779,390

Licensing section staff again provided licensing and transfer assistance in Dillingham and King Salmon during 1996. The Dillingham office was staffed prior to the herring season from April 23-27 and for salmon from June 10-21. The King Salmon office was operated June 10 - July 17. The field offices generated $10,060 in "user fees" to cover operating costs. Staff assisted with 148 emergency transfer requests and issued approximately 988 permits and vessel licenses.

Field Office	Permits Issued	Vessels Licensed	Total
Dillingham	373	168	541
King Salmon	281	166	447
Total	654	334	988