APPENDIX III APPENDIX III 
Alaska's current limited entry program became effective 
on ApPEPIN? 7, 1973. tm W297 Sttehes Commission rTegul atedrentry stor 
the first time into 18 commercial salmon net fisheries and 
the power troll fishery. According to the Commercial Fisheries 
Entry Commission's 1975 Annual Report, access to the 19 salmon 
fisheries put under limited entry is regulated through the is- 
Suance of entry permits, each of which enables a person to 
Operate a unit of gear in a particular fishery. Permits are 
issued on the basis of an applicant's past participation and 
economic dependence in the fishery for which he is applying. 
Permits are freely transferable so that access to a fishery 
is not blocked. The level of effort remains the same, since 
one person must leave the fishery to every person who enters. 
Permits may be transferred for a price. 
The Commission conducted a permit price survey on permit 
sales through August 1975. The survey indicated that while 
specific prices covered a somewhat wider range, the average 
price paid for an entry permit varied from $750 for a gillnet 
fishery permit to $11,035 for a purse seine fishery permit. 
The survey also determined that in the majority of cases 
where financing is necessary, permit sales are financed by 
the transferor of the permit, or a bank. Of the respondents, 
7.5 percent indicated that a processor had financed the pur- 
chase. 
According to the Commission's report, the transition 
from an open access fishery to one with regulated access has 
generally been smooth, although it has been met with opposi- 
tion from some quarters. A lawsuit has been filed challenging 
the constitutionality of the State law regulating entry into 
commercial fisheries. Also, an initiative petition drive suc- 
ceeded in gaining enough signatures to put the question of 
repealing that State statute onto the November 1976 general 
election ballot. 
The commission reported that the effect of reduced gear 
levels in 1975 compared to 1974 was varied. In most cases, it 
resulted in additional fishing periods for the fishermen, al- 
though the amount of additional fishing time varied according 
to the strength of the salmon runs. The greatest effect was 
probably in the southeast Alaska salmon fisheries, where the 
Majority of Washington State fishermen affected by the Judge 
Boldt decision would otherwise have fished. 
During 1975 the Commission began determining the "opti- 
mum" number of entry permits for each of the 19 salmon fish- 
eries operating under the entry regulation system that year. 
Establishing an "optimum number" is necessary in order to 
identify those fisheries that will require a "buyback" pro- 
gram. The law provides that in any fishery where the optimum 
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