Juneau – Friday, the Alaska House of Representatives passed a resolution requesting that Alaska-focused assets of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) be based in Alaska. House Resolution 8 was put forward by the House Community and Regional Affairs Committee and carried by Representative Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (D-Sitka).

Specifically, the resolution requests that NOAA fully staff the Ted Stevens Marine Research Institute and ensure that the Director of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center is based in Alaska. The resolution complements and reinforces the efforts of Alaska’s congressional delegation who are working to do the same.

Currently, many of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center’s employees and assets are based Seattle.

“Alaska’s fisheries managers should be based in Alaska,” said Rep. Kreiss-Tomkins, Chairman of the House State Affairs Committee. “This resolution affirms the Alaska House of Representative’s expectation that Alaska’s resources should not be managed from the Lower 48.”[xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]“Why would the Alaska Fisheries Science Center be headquartered in Seattle? I am thankful that the Ted Stevens Marine Research Institute is based in Alaska, but the facility has space and capacity for dozens of additional staff,” said Rep. Justin Parish (D-Juneau).

House Resolution 8 passed the Alaska House of Representatives today by a vote of 36 to 1.

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