Alaska Administrative Code

(a) Repealed 1/18/2020. (b) A vessel that is registered for the Bering Sea-Aleutian Islands Area under 5 AAC 28.020 for a groundfish fishery, other than a state-waters season for Pacific cod described in 5 AAC 28.647 or a sablefish fishery described in 5 AAC 28.640, also shall be…

(a) Unless otherwise specified in this chapter, groundfish may be taken only during seasons established by emergency order or under a permit issued by the commissioner. (b) In the Aleutian Islands District, sablefish may be taken only as described in 5 AAC 28.640. (c) In the Beri…

(a) Unless otherwise specified in this section, groundfish may be taken with the gear specified in 5 AAC 28.050. (b) Rockfish may not be taken with seine gear. (c) Only five mechanical jigging machines may be operated from a vessel. (d) In the Sitkin Sound waters described in 5 A…

Notes 5 AAC 28.630 Repealed 4/7/93. State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare…

(a) Rectangular groundfish pots with all bait and bait containers removed and with all doors secured fully open, and cone or pyramid groundfish pots with all bait and bait containers removed and all doors not secured closed may be stored in waters not more than 25 fathoms deep. (…

(a) The management plan under this section governs the harvest of sablefish in the Aleutian Islands District and the Western District of the South Alaska Peninsula Area described in 5 AAC 28.555. (b) The commercial fishing season for sablefish in state waters will open and close …

Notes 5 AAC 28.645 Eff. 2/9/2007, Register 181; repealed 3/15/2008, Register 185 State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will…

(a) This management plan governs the harvest of Pacific cod in the Aleutian Islands Subdistrict, including the Adak Section. For the purposes of this section, the (1) Aleutian Islands Subdistrict is comprised of the state waters in the Aleutian Islands District west of 170° W. lo…

(a) This management plan governs the harvest of Pacific cod in the Dutch Harbor Subdistrict. For the purposes of this section, the Dutch Harbor Subdistrict is comprised of the state waters in the Aleutian Islands District east of 170° W. long.j and the state waters of the Bering …

(a) All waters of Alaska surrounding St. Matthew, Hall, and Pinnacle Islands are closed to commercial groundfish fishing. (b) The waters of Unalaska Bay south of a line from Cape Kalekta at 54 ° 00.50' N. lat., 166° 22.50' W. long. to Cape Cheerful at 54° 01' N. lat., 166° 40' W.…

The holder of a valid CFEC interim use or limited entry permit may take but may not sell groundfish for use as bait in the commercial fishery for which the permit is held as follows: (1) groundfish may be taken at any time; (2) groundfish may be taken by any gear specified in 5 A…

(a) The landing requirements for sablefish in the Aleutian Islands District are specified in 5 AAC 28.640. (b) After 72 hours following the closure of any directed groundfish season within the Bering Sea-Aleutian Islands Area, a vessel that participated in that fishery may not ha…

(a) An operator of a vessel fishing for black rockfish in the waters of Alaska in the Aleutian Islands District of the Bering Sea - Aleutian Islands Area shall maintain an accurate logbook of all fishing operations for each type of gear used. (b) A logbook described in (a) of thi…

(a) A person may not use a vessel that is longer than 60 feet in overall length to take rockfish in the waters of Sitkin Sound and the surrounding area enclosed by lines from Cape Adagdak northeast to Swallow Head to Teapot Rock southeast to a point on the northwesternmost tip of…

The Chukchi-Beaufort Area consists of all territorial waters of Alaska north of the latitude of Cape Prince of Wales (65º 36' N. lat.). Notes 5 AAC 28.700 Eff. 7/30/89, Register 111; am 4/4/97, Register 142 Authority:AS 16.05.251 Publisher's note: This regulation was inadvertentl…

(a) The Chukchi-Beaufort Area is a nonexclusive registration area for Pacific cod. (b) A vessel that is registered for the Chukchi-Beaufort Area under 5 AAC 28.020 for a groundfish fishery, other than a state-waters season for Pacific cod described in 5 AAC 28.081, also shall be …

Groundfish may be taken only during seasons established by emergency order or under a permit issued by the commissioner. Notes 5 AAC 28.710 Eff. 7/30/89, Register 111; am 4/4/97, Register 142; am 5/16/2010, Register 194 Authority:AS 16.05.060 AS 16.05.251 State regulations are up…

Rectangular groundfish pots with all bait and bait containers removed and with all doors secured fully open, and cone or pyramid groundfish pots with all bait and bait containers removed and all doors not secured closed may be stored in waters not more than 25 fathoms deep. Notes…

Unless otherwise provided in this chapter, (1) "bycatch" means any species or species group taken incidentally in the course of participating in a directed fishery for another species or species group; (2) "directed fishery" means a fishery that is managed for the taking of one o…

(a) Unless otherwise specified, requirements set out in this chapter apply only to commercial salmon fishing with troll gear in the Southeastern Alaska-Yakutat Area. (b) Unless otherwise specified, the provisions of this chapter that apply to the waters of Alaska also apply to th…

Unless otherwise specified in this chapter, a person may operate troll gear in the waters of the Southeastern Alaska-Yakutat Area east of the longitude of Cape Suckling (144º W. long.) and north of the International Boundary at Dixon Entrance. Notes 5 AAC 29.010 Eff. 10/1/98, Reg…

(a) Fishing districts that are used in this chapter are described in 5 AAC 30.200 and 5 AAC 33.200. (b) For the purposes of this chapter, the "winter boundary line" for the winter season and periods established in 5 AAC 29.070 is a line across Yakutat Bay from the westernmost tip…

(a) The following waters are identified as water of frequent high abundance of king salmon: (1) waters off the west coast of Baranof Island between the latitude of Point Lauder and the latitude of Redfish Cape, to a distance of one mile from the shore; (2) waters off the Kruzof I…

(a) The management of the Southeastern Alaska-Yakutat Area king and coho salmon troll fisheries is complex because of mixing of the salmon stocks and fishing effort placed upon those salmon stocks by the subsistence, commercial, and sport fishing user groups. The Board of Fisheri…

(a) The department shall manage the commercial and sport king salmon fisheries in the Southeastern Alaska-Yakutat Area in accordance with the conservation and harvest goals of the Pacific Salmon Treaty, as implemented by the Pacific Salmon Commission. (b) The department shall man…

The historical harvest allocation (1969 - 1988) of coho salmon in the Southeastern Alaska and Yakutat commercial salmon fisheries is 19 percent purse seine, 13 percent drift gillnet, seven percent set gillnet, and 61 percent troll. While these percentages may vary from season to …

(a) The fishing seasons for the salmon troll fishery are as follows: (1) winter season from October 1 through April 30; (2) summer season from May 1 through September 30. (b) The department shall manage the king salmon troll fishery to provide for (1) a winter fishery during the …

(a) The department shall manage the winter salmon troll fishery so that the harvest of king salmon does not exceed a guideline harvest level of 45,000 non-Alaska hatchery-produced fish, with a guideline harvest range of 43,000 - 47,000 non-Alaska hatchery-produced fish, plus the …

(a) In this chapter, a spring salmon troll fishery means a fishery that is (1) opened and closed by emergency order; (2) restricted in area; (3) designated by number so that each opening in a specific body of water is uniquely identified for catch reporting purposes. (b) The depa…

(a) Except as specified in (b) of this section, the commissioner may open, by emergency order, weekly king salmon troll fishing periods in the waters of District 8, beginning on the first Monday in May through June 30, to occur from (1) 12:01 a.m. Monday through 11:59 p.m. Wednes…

In District 11, the commissioner may open and close, by emergency order, directed Taku River king salmon troll fishing periods, from the first Monday in May through the third Saturday in June, as follows: (1) in the waters of Section 11-A that are east and south of a line from Pi…

(a) During the summer salmon troll fishery, salmon may be taken only during open fishing periods. Unless otherwise specified in this section or by emergency order, salmon may be taken throughout the Southeastern Alaska-Yakutat Area unless restricted (1) by a provision of this sec…

(a) Coho salmon may be taken from June 1 through September 20. However, the commissioner, in years when wild coho salmon abundance is projected by the department to meet escapement needs after considering harvest and effort, may extend, by emergency order, the coho salmon fishery…

(a) The commissioner may open, by emergency order, a hatchery chum salmon troll fishery only during the summer coho salmon troll fishery closures specified in 5 AAC 29.110(b) (2). (b) If the commissioner opens a season under (a) of this section, chum salmon fishing will occur onl…

(a) The purpose of the management plan in this section is to give the department direction for the orderly development of enhanced chum salmon troll fisheries during the directed troll fisheries in Cross Sound, Icy Strait, Northern Chatham Straiyt, and in the waters of Districts …

(a) The owner or operator of a vessel that is to be used to take salmon with hand or power troll gear shall register that vessel before engaging in salmon trolling during a calendar year. The registration is valid for the entire calendar year in which a vessel is registered. (b) …

(a) Salmon may be taken by hand troll gear and power troll gear only in the Southeastern Alaska-Yakutat Area. (b) The maximum number of trolling lines that may be operated from a salmon troll vessel is as follows: (1) from a power troll vessel: (A) no more than six lines may be o…

In addition to the requirements of 5 AAC 39.119, a registered salmon hand troll vessel owner shall display the letters HT in block letters on both sides of the vessel's hull or cabin. The letters must be in a color that contrasts with the color of the background and be at least e…

Notes 5 AAC 29.130 Eff. 10/1/98, Register 147; repealed 7/1/2015, Register 214, July 2015 As of Register 214, July 2015 the substance of former 5 AAC 29.130 appears in 5 AAC 29.090(k). Before Register 147, Oct. 1998, the substance of 5 AAC 29.130 was contained in former 5 AAC 33.…

(a) Unless otherwise specified in this chapter, king salmon taken and retained must measure at least 28 inches from tip of snout to tip of tail (in its natural open position) or 23 inches from the midpoint of the clethral arch to the tip of the tail. Undersized king salmon that a…

(a) Notwithstanding the provisions in 5 AAC 39.130, the owner or operator of a catcher-processor vessel shall submit a separate fish ticket for each week that the vessel fished. A fish ticket must document the estimated number and pounds of salmon caught during that week. Fish ti…

(a) Unless otherwise specified in this chapter, the waters listed in this section are closed to the taking of salmon with troll gear, except as follows: (1) during the winter fishery, the waters listed in this section and within 500 yards of the terminus of any salmon stream are …

Salmon trolling in special harvest areas near hatcheries and release sites is permitted only as specified in the terminal harvest management plans set out in 5 AAC 33.369 - 5 AAC 33.387, except as specified by emergency order. Notes 5 AAC 29.200 Eff. 10/1/98, Register 147; am 7/2…

Requirements set out in this chapter apply to commercial fishing only, unless otherwise specified. Subsistence, personal use, and sport fishing regulations affecting commercial fishing vessels or affecting any other commercial fishing activity are set out in the subsistence fishi…

The Yakutat Area consists of all waters of Alaska within an area that has as its western boundary the longitude of Cape Suckling (144º W. long.), and as its southern boundary a line extending seaward from the western tip of Cape Fairweather, at 58º 47.89' N. lat., 137º 56.68' W. …

(a) Yakataga District: all waters of Alaska between the longitude of Cape Suckling (144º W. long.) and the longitude of Icy Cape (141º 42' W. long.). (b) Yakutat District: all waters of Alaska between the longitude of Icy Cape (141º 42' W. long.) and a line projected southwest fr…

(a) Salmon may be taken by set gillnets only as follows: (1) in the Yakataga District the opening and closing dates will be established by emergency order; (2) in the Yakutat District, (A) in the Alsek River and waters three-quarters of a mile on either side of the river mouth se…

Salmon may be taken by set gillnets during the open fishing season only as follows: (1) in the Yakataga District, from 9:00 a.m. Sunday through 9:00 a.m. Wednesday, except that in the Tsiu River, salmon may be taken only from 9:00 a.m. Sunday to 9:00 a.m. Monday and from 9:00 a.m…

Except as provided in 5 AAC 29, salmon may be taken only by set gillnets. Notes 5 AAC 30.330 In effect before 1988; am 10/1/98, Register 147 Authority:AS 16.05.251 State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our…

(a) A set gillnet with a mesh size smaller than eight inches may not be more than 45 meshes in depth and a set gillnet with a mesh size eight inches or larger may not be more than 35 meshes in depth, except that after July 1, in the waters of Yakutat Bay, a set gillnet of all mes…