Alaska's Regulation of King Crab on the Outer Continental Shelf
![handle is hein.journals/uclaak6 and id is 379 raw text is: ALASKA'S REGULATION OF KING CRAB ON
THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF
INTRODUCTION
Since the middle of this century, the king crab industry has
become a vital element in the economy of western Alaska.' Most
Alaskan king crab, however, are found beyond the state's2 three-
mile territorial sea in the high seas, i.e., in international waters.?
Consequently, Alaska has imposed its authority over the extra-
territorial waters of the outer continental shelf for the specific and
limited purpose of effectuating its king crab conservation program.
Since 1960 the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has directed
this program under a grant of power conferred upon it by the Alas-
ka Legislature through various statutes. In general, this legislation
authorizes the Department to adopt regulations aimed at conser-
ving the king crab found on the high seas off the coast of Alaska.4
The legislation imposes various penalties on all parties, regardless
of their residence,5 who take king crab in violation of the statutory
restrictions. The Department has developed specific standards,
such as the calendar days of the season and the total authorized
catch, which vary from year to year in response to a balanced
assessment of the value of immediate commercial exploitation ver-
sus the need to conserve an adequate number of king crab to
ensure the continued presence of this marketable resource.'
1. Hjelle v. Brooks, 377 F. Supp. 430, 444 (D. Alaska 1974) (J. Von der
Heydt, dissenting opinion); Alaska King Crab Marketing and Quality Control
Act, § 1, ch. 114, S.L.A. 1965, codified in AS 18.90.010. See note 159 &
accompanying text infra.
2. As used in this Comment, unless plainly to the contrary, state denotes a
state of the United States.
3. State and national territorial waters extend three miles offshore: ALASKA
ADMIN. CODE § 39.975(13) (1975) [hereinafter cited as AAC] (Alaskan territor-
ial waters; see note 19 & accompanying text infra); Submerged Lands Act, 43 U.S.
C. §§ 1301(b), 1312 (1975) (state territorial waters); United States v. California,
332 U.S. 19, 33n.16 (1947) (national territorial waters). This zone of territorial
waters is variously known as the territorial sea, the marginal sea, or the three-
mile zone. Beyond the territorial waters are the high seas, by definition extra-
territorial: The term 'high seas' means all waters beyond the territorial sea of
the United States and beyond any foreign nation's territorial sea, to the extent
that such sea is recognized by the United States. Fishery Conservation and
Management Act of 1976, 16 U.S.C.A. § 1802 (13) (Supp. 1976). The part of
the continental shelf beyond the three-mile limit is known as the outer con-
tinental shelf. Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. § 1331(a) (1975).
4. 5AAC § 34.
5. The legislation lacks express reference to any residency standard, but does
make subject to it any person. See, e.g., 5 AAC §§ 34.090, 34.095.
6. See generally 5 AAC § 34, arts. 5-13.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/uclaak6&div=20&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Alaska's Regulation of King Crab on the Outer Continental Shelf
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