We cannot manage our fisheries and develop the public policies protecting our oceans from the judicial bench. We must change and I would like to offer a few suggestions. First, as an industry, as citizens, as states and a nation we must continue to embrace and champion the ethic of conservation and habitat protection. I am unabashedly proud of Alaska's lead role in this effort and the critical role played by our fishing industry. Alaska jobs, families, and communities all depend on sustainable fishing.
Sustainability is written into our Constitution.
We have enacted some of the toughest water quality standards in the nation, and we have an equally strong Forest Practices Act that protects our salmon streams. We have insisted in international forums that other nations protect anadromous stream habitat such as the productive Taku River. We ensured that the Pacific Salmon Treaty adopted the principle of Safe Passage from salmon fry to spawner. Alaska's majority representation on the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council has promoted the most progressive conservation management regime in the world. None of this has been easy.