Dan Sullivan

The values inherent to the Magnuson-Stevens Act that allows our Bristol Bay salmon to be successful.

I'm very honored. Thank you.

It's the great Alaskan wild salmon.

Rather than press for the one-sided and potentially harmful changes embodied in S. 1520, we ask this Subcommittee to work with the commercial fishing and seafood industries.

Alaska is the superpower of seafood. Almost 60 percent of all the seafood harvested in the United States comes from the waters of Alaska.

So if you can keep it brief, I think that would be fine.

Let's take a page out of Theodore Roosevelt's conservation ethos and do the hard things now so we can reap the benefits for generations to come.

Congress can provide balance and consistency to the long-ignored recreational fishing sector by modernizing recreational fisheries management by passing the Modern Fish Act.

Federal fisheries policies do not reflect the depth and breadth of the recreational fishing industry and the need for more public access for anglers.

I would like to thank my Senator for sponsoring Senate Bill 1520, the Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act of 2017.

I think it would be remiss if we did not solicit these very important perspectives.

As we go through the process, though, I also think it is important to remember and to acknowledge the success of MSA as we examine the problems and the progress it has helped to make toward sustainably managing our fisheries.

It is hard to know how to sustainably manage fisheries in the face of climate change, changing ocean conditions, and disasters, both natural and manmade.

Ecosystem-based approaches that take into account the whole system can help us foresee and be prepared for the environmental factors that can significantly impact our fisheries.

As Chairman of this Committee, I view the advances achieved during the previous reauthorizations as improvements.

That's remarkable. One salmon run. That's the biggest salmon run in the world.

Joe Balash currently serves as my Chief of Staff. While we are sorry to lose him, the job that Secretary Zinke has tasked him with is one that, I believe, he is uniquely qualified for.

I have certainly learned a lot and look forward to continuing to engage with all the different stakeholders here on this very, very important topic as we move forward.

I want to thank all the witnesses. I think everybody who has remained, you have been a very patient audience.

We are going to look at that because my understanding of that right now is it is not equitable in terms of how it is applied in other regions.

I think I am repeating probably what Mr. Reed mentioned earlier. Sound, verifiable science is key to fisheries management.

To have a static regulation in that kind of environment is not a good idea.

I certainly would not advocate lifting the cap altogether.

It is an important question and when it is statutorily defined and has not been reviewed, I think it is a legitimate question to ask.

I am the Chairman of this Committee. I am looking nationally but, of course, I am an Alaskan Senator and that trend, that statistic causes concern for me.