The legislature finds and recognizes these facts: (1) migratory fish and migratory shellfish are present in commercial quantities inside and outside the territorial waters of the state; (2) migratory fish and migratory shellfish taken from the waters of the state are indistinguishable, in most cases, from those taken from the adjacent high seas; (3) substantial quantities of migratory fish and migratory shellfish move inshore and offshore intermittently and at various times during a given year and in so doing often enter and leave territorial waters of the state; (4) to conserve the migratory fish and migratory shellfish found inside the waters of the state it is necessary to strictly enforce local laws and regulations; (5) by making certain laws and regulations enacted or adopted for the regulation of the coastal fishery applicable to the adjacent high sea areas, enforcement of these laws and regulations is facilitated; (6) conservation regulations should not be adopted to impose economic sanctions.
Alaska Legal Code