Title 16, Fish and Game

(a) A person who does not hold a limited entry permit or interim-use permit issued under AS 16.43 or a fish transporter permit issued under AS 16.05.671 may not deliver or land fish in the state unless the person (1) holds a valid federal permit to operate commercial fishing gear…

(a) It is unlawful for a person, or an agent or representative of the person, (1) to employ, in the harvesting, transporting, or purchasing of fish, a fisherman who neither is licensed under AS 16.05.480 nor is the holder of a permit issued under AS 16.43; (2) to purchase fish fr…

(a) Crab of any species may not be processed on a commercial crab fishing vessel unless (1) the vessel remains within one registration area from the time the crab is caught to the time of dock delivery; (2) the operator of the vessel notifies the department of proposed changes in…

(a) Each buyer of fish shall keep a record of each purchase showing the name or number of the vessel from which the catch involved is taken, the date of landing, vessel license number, pounds purchased of each species, number of each species, and the Department of Fish and Game s…

[Repealed or reserved.]

(a) Upon the conviction of a person for a misdemeanor or felony violation of a commercial fishing law of this state, in a fishery other than a commercial salmon fishery, the court, in addition to other penalties imposed by law, (1) may suspend one or more of the person's commerci…

(a) A person who without any culpable mental state violates AS 16.05.440 — 16.05.690, or a regulation of the Board of Fisheries or the department governing commercial fishing, is guilty of a violation and upon conviction is punishable by a fine of not more than (1) $3,000 for a f…

Article 5. Management of Fish and Fisheries. (a) A person who negligently violates AS 16.05.440 — 16.05.690, or a regulation of the Board of Fisheries or the department governing commercial fishing, is guilty of a misdemeanor and in addition to punishment under other provisions i…

(a) Fish stocks in the state shall be managed consistent with sustained yield of wild fish stocks and may be managed consistent with sustained yield of enhanced fish stocks. (b) In allocating enhanced fish stocks, the board shall consider the need of fish enhancement projects to …

Fish health inspections determined to be necessary by the department shall be performed by a professional fish health specialist certified by the fish health section of the American Fisheries Society.

Article 6. Miscellaneous Provisions. The state may assume management of a fishery in offshore water adjacent to the state in the absence of a federal fishery management plan for the fishery or in the event that a federal fishery management plan for the fishery delegates authority…

(a) The taking of antlerless moose in any game management unit or subunit or a portion of a unit or subunit is prohibited except that antlerless moose may be taken only under regulations adopted under (b) of this section after (1) the department recommends the season be opened in…

(a) Except as provided in (d) of this section, a person who with criminal negligence takes a brown or grizzly bear within one-half mile of a solid waste disposal facility is guilty of a class A misdemeanor. (b) In addition to the penalty imposed by law under (a) of this section, …

(a) A person may not shoot or assist in shooting a free-ranging wolf or wolverine the same day that a person has been airborne. However, the Board of Game may authorize a predator control program as part of a game management plan that involves airborne or same day airborne shooti…

If the Board of Fisheries by regulation uses department markers to establish waters closed to commercial fishing and the state fails to remove the old markers when new markers are posted to establish waters closed to commercial fishing, commercial fishing is expressly permitted i…

[Repealed or reserved.]

[Repealed or reserved.]

(a) Hunting with firearms is prohibited north of the Yukon River in the area within five miles on either side of the highway between the Yukon River and the Arctic Ocean. (b) A person who violates this section is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.

(a) Except as provided in (e) of this section, a person may not intentionally obstruct or hinder another person's lawful hunting, fishing, trapping, or viewing of fish or game by (1) placing one's self in a location in which human presence may alter the (A) behavior of the fish o…

(a) A person aggrieved by conduct or threatened conduct in violation of AS 16.05.790 may petition a superior court to enjoin the respondent from engaging in the conduct. (b) A person aggrieved by a violation of AS 16.05.790 is entitled to recover general damages and special damag…

[Repealed or reserved.]

[Repealed or reserved.]

[Repealed or reserved.]

(a) A person may not engage in computer-assisted remote hunting or provide or operate a facility for computer-assisted remote hunting in the state. This subsection applies to any person engaged in computer-assisted remote hunting if the game or any device, equipment, or software …

[Repealed or reserved.]

A net, seine, lantern, snare, device, contrivance, and material while in use, had and maintained for the purpose of catching, taking, killing, attracting, or decoying fish or game, contrary to law or regulation of a board or the commissioner, is a public nuisance and is subject t…

The possession of fish or game or a part of fish or game, or a nest or egg of a bird during the time the taking of it is prohibited is prima facie evidence that it was taken, possessed, bought, or sold or transported in violation of this chapter. The burden of proof is upon the p…

(a) Except as provided in (b) and (c) of this section, records required by regulations of the department concerning the landings of fish, shellfish, or fishery products, and annual statistical reports of fishermen, buyers, and processors required by regulation of the department a…

The Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, or the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States and their authorized agents or other appropriate federal agencies may conduct fish cultural operations and scientific investigations in the state in the manner and at th…

The board may transplant surplus musk oxen from Nunivak Island to appropriate areas on the mainland of the state, when good management practices dictate the action. The board shall determine which transplant sites are appropriate and whether a surplus of animals exists.

(a) In addition to any other program for the stocking or propagation of game birds that the department has as of July 23, 1974, the department shall establish a special program for the raising, maintenance, and release of upland game birds in the state. Birds raised under this pr…

(a) The waterfowl conservation tag authorized in AS 16.05.340(a)(17) shall be produced annually in stamp form by the department in an amount the commissioner considers appropriate. The department shall make stamps available for the creation of waterfowl conservation limited editi…

[Repealed or reserved.]

[Repealed or reserved.]

(a) A person may not waste salmon intentionally, knowingly, or with reckless disregard for the consequences. In this section, “waste” means the failure to utilize the majority of the carcass, excluding viscera and sex parts, of a salmon intended for (1) sale to a commercial buyer…

(a) Unless the Board of Fisheries has provided by regulation for the use of a longer vessel in a salmon seine fishery, a salmon seine vessel may not be longer than 58 feet overall length except vessels that have fished for salmon with seines in waters of the state before January …

Article 7. Fishways and Hatcheries.

If the commissioner considers it necessary, every dam or other obstruction built by any person across a stream frequented by salmon or other fish shall be provided by that person with a durable and efficient fishway and a device for efficient passage for downstream migrants. The …

[Repealed or reserved.]

If a fishway over a dam or obstruction is considered impracticable by the commissioner because of cost, the owner of the dam or obstruction, in order to compensate for the loss resulting from the dam or obstruction shall, at the owner's option (1) pay a lump sum acceptable to the…

[Repealed or reserved.]

Article 8. Protection of Waterways for Anadromous Fish. (a) The owner of a dam or obstruction who fails to comply with AS 16.05.841 or 16.05.851 or a regulation adopted under AS 16.05.841 or 16.05.851 within a reasonable time specified by written notice from the commissioner is g…

[Repealed or reserved.]

[Repealed or reserved.]

[Repealed or reserved.]

(a) The commissioner shall, in accordance with AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act), specify the various rivers, lakes, and streams or parts of them that are important for the spawning, rearing, or migration of anadromous fish. (b) If a person or governmental agency desires to…