Title 16, Fish and Game

(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 …

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…

(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 …

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 …

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…

(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 guilty of a misdemeanor, and is punishable by a fine of n…

(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…

If a person or governmental agency begins construction on a work or project or use for which notice is required by AS 16.05.871 without first providing plans and specifications subject to the approval of the commissioner for the proper protection of fish and game, and without fir…

In an emergency arising from weather or stream flow conditions, the commissioner, through authorized representatives, shall issue oral permits to a riparian owner for removing obstructions or for repairing existing structures without the necessity of submitting prepared plans and…

If a person or governmental agency fails to notify the commissioner of any construction or use that causes material damage to the spawning beds or prevents or interferes with the migration of anadromous fish, or by neglect or noncompliance with plans and specifications required a…

(a) A person who violates AS 16.05.871 — 16.05.896 is guilty of a class A misdemeanor. (b) The court shall transmit the proceeds of all fines to the proper state officer for deposit in the general fund of the state.

Alaska residents and equipment shall be given preference in exploration work to be done by the department.

(a) Alien persons not lawfully admitted to the United States are prohibited from engaging in commercial fishing activities or taking marine mammals in the territorial waters of the state as they presently exist or may be extended in the future. (b) An alien person who violates (a…

(a) Unless permitted by AS 16.05 — AS 16.40 or by regulation adopted under AS 16.05 — AS 16.40, a person may not take, possess, transport, sell, offer to sell, purchase, or offer to purchase fish, game, or marine aquatic plants, or any part of fish, game, or aquatic plants, or a …

(a) A person may not import, possess, transport, or release in the state live venomous reptiles, live venomous reptile eggs, live venomous insects, or live venomous insect eggs, except in accordance with the terms of a permit issued under (b) of this section. This prohibition doe…

(a) Except as provided in AS 16.05.430, 16.05.665, 16.05.722, 16.05.723, 16.05.783, 16.05.831, 16.05.861, and 16.05.905, a person who violates AS 16.05.920 or 16.05.921, or a regulation adopted under this chapter or AS 16.20, is guilty of a class A misdemeanor. (b) In addition to…

(a) This chapter does not prevent the collection or exportation of fish and game, a part of fish or game or a nest or egg of a bird for scientific or educational purposes, or for propagation or exhibition purposes under a permit that the department may issue and prescribe the ter…

(a) In recognition of the fact that the state has not assented to federal control of fish and game in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve or the navigable waters within or adjoining the park and preserve, that the power to control the management of fish and game within the bou…

In AS 16.05 — AS 16.40, (1) “aquatic plant” means any species of plant, excluding the rushes, sedges, and true grasses, growing in a marine aquatic or intertidal habitat; (2) “barter” means the exchange or trade of fish or game, or their parts, taken for subsistence uses (A) for …

This chapter may be cited as the Fish and Game Code.

(a) A person may not, without first applying for and obtaining a permit or license from the Department of Environmental Conservation, (1) obstruct, divert, or pollute waters of the state, either fresh or salt, utilized by salmon in the propagation of the species, by felling trees…

If in the judgment of the Department of Environmental Conservation, the purpose of the applicant for the permit or license is to develop power, obtain water for civic, domestic, irrigation, manufacturing, mining, or other purposes tending to develop the natural resources of the s…

A person who violates AS 16.10.010 — 16.10.050 is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, is punishable by a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $500.

The proceeds of all fines and penalties imposed under AS 16.10.010 — 16.10.050 shall be paid into the general fund and they shall be immediately available for expenditure by the Department of Fish and Game.

AS 16.10.010 — 16.10.050 do not affect the vested rights or privileges granted by federal statute to any person.

A person who wilfully or with reckless disregard of the consequences, interferes with or damages the commercial fishing gear of another person is guilty of a misdemeanor. For the purposes of this section “interference” means the physical disturbance of gear which results in econo…

Fish traps, including but not limited to floating, pile-driven, or hand-driven fish traps, may not be operated in the state on or over state land, tideland, submerged land, or water. This section does not prevent the operation of small hand-driven fish traps of the type ordinaril…

AS 16.10.070 may not be construed to violate sec. 4, P.L. 85-508 (72 Stat. 339) (Alaska Statehood Act), which constitutes a compact between the United States and Alaska, under which the state disclaims all right and title to land or other property (including fishing rights), the …

A person who violates AS 16.10.070 is guilty of a misdemeanor and is punishable by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by a fine of not more than $5,000 or by both.

Fish traps, including but not limited to floating, pile-driven, or hand-driven fish traps, may not be erected, moored, or maintained on or over land, tideland, submerged land, or water owned or otherwise acquired by the state. This section does not prevent the maintenance, use, o…

A person who violates AS 16.10.100 is guilty of a misdemeanor and is punishable by imprisonment for not more than one year or by a fine of not more than $5,000, or by both.

A person may not use, employ, or operate a drum or reel around which a purse seine is coiled, rolled, or looped for purposes of taking or removing fish from a body of water located on or over land or tideland owned by the state or over which the state has jurisdiction. This secti…

The Board of Fisheries shall, by regulation, prescribe a termination device or devices for all shellfish and bottom fish pots. In this section “termination device” means a biodegradable seam or panel or other device that renders the pot incapable of holding shellfish or bottom fi…

A person who violates AS 16.10.120 or 16.10.125 is guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction is punishable by imprisonment for not more than six months, or by a fine of not more than $1,000, or by both.

The legislature declares that stripping roe from pollock without utilizing the flesh is wasteful and does not constitute utilization of this resource for the maximum benefit of the people. Therefore, it is the policy of the state that (1) roe stripping be eliminated to the fulles…

(a) Unless otherwise provided by law, a person may not recklessly waste or cause to be wasted groundfish taken in a commercial fishery. (b) The Board of Fisheries may adopt regulations under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) it considers necessary for implementation of this…

The legislature finds the following: (1) extensive and valuable herring populations are available for harvest in waters subject to the jurisdiction of the state; (2) commercial markets are available for herring processed in several forms; (3) one processing technique presently em…

(a) A person may not waste or cause to be wasted any commercially taken herring. (b) The Board of Fisheries may adopt regulations under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) it considers necessary for implementation of this section. The board may delegate its authority under th…

(a) A person may not remove herring from the state before the herring has been frozen or otherwise processed for shipment. (b) In this section, “processed for shipment” includes, but is not limited to, icing, stripping, or salting of the herring; however, it does not include salt…