CWC Fisheries, Inc. v. Bunker

OPINION

BURKE, Justice.

This appeal presents the question of whether tidelands conveyed pursuant to class I tideland preference rights under AS 38.05.820 were conveyed subject to the public’s right to fish the waters above those tidelands. We conclude that they were, and we therefore affirm the judgment of the superior court dismissing CWC Fisheries’ trespass claim against Dean Bunker.

I

Shortly after statehood, as part of the Alaska Land Act, the legislature enacted AS 38.05.820 (formerly AS 38.05.320). 1 Under this provision, occupants of tideland tracts not seaward of a municipal corporation,…