Title 16, Fish and Game

Unless there is a vacancy on the commission, two members of the commission constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, for the performance of a duty, or for the exercise of a power of the commission.

The commission shall consist of two members with a broad range of professional experience, neither of whom has a vested economic interest in an interim-use permit, entry permit, commercial fishing vessel or gear, or in any fishery resource processing or marketing business.

Members of the commission are in the exempt service and are entitled to a monthly salary equal to a step in Range 25 of the salary schedule in AS 39.27.011.

The attorney general is the legal counsel for the commission. The attorney general shall advise the commission in legal matters arising in the discharge of its duties and represent the commission in suits to which it is a party. However, the commission may retain additional legal…

(a) The commission may employ those persons necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter. Employees of the commission are in the exempt service under AS 39.25.110. (b) In addition to its staff of regular employees, the commission may contract for and engage the services of…

(a) To accomplish the purposes set out in AS 16.43.010, the commission shall (1) regulate entry into the commercial fisheries for all fishery resources in the state; (2) establish priorities for the application of the provisions of this chapter to the various commercial fisheries…

[Repealed or reserved.]

(a) The commission may adopt regulations, consistent with law, necessary or proper in the exercise of its powers or for the performance of its duties under this chapter. (b) The commission shall adopt regulations, consistent with due process of law, that govern practice and proce…

Article 2. Entry Permit System. (a) The administrative adjudication procedures of AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) do not apply to adjudicatory proceedings of the commission except that final administrative determinations by the commission are subject to judicial review as…

(a) A person may not operate gear in the commercial taking of fishery resources without a valid entry permit or a valid interim-use permit issued by the commission. (b) A permit is not required of a crewmember or other person assisting in the operation of a unit of gear engaged i…

(a) Except as may be otherwise provided under AS 16.43.270(d), an entry permit authorizes the permittee to operate a unit of gear within a specified fishery. (b) The holder of an entry permit shall have the permit in possession at all times when engaged in the operation of gear f…

(a) Except as specifically provided in this section, the commission shall establish annual fees for the issuance and annual renewal of entry permits or interim-use permits. (b) The commission may charge interest at a rate not to exceed the legal rate of interest established in AS…

(a) Except as provided in AS 16.10.333 — 16.10.338 and in AS 44.81.231 — 44.81.250, entry permits and interim-use permits are transferable only through the commission as provided in this section and AS 16.43.180 and under regulations adopted by the commission. An involuntary tran…

(a) The commission shall adopt regulations providing for the temporary emergency transfer of entry permits and interim-use permits when illness, disability, death, required military or government service, or other unavoidable hardship prevents the permit holder from participating…

Article 3. Initial Issuance of Entry Permits.

(a) The commission shall establish administrative areas suitable for regulating and controlling entry into the commercial fisheries. The commission shall make the administrative areas reasonably compatible with the geographic areas for which specific commercial fishing regulation…

(a) For each fishery that is not subject to a maximum number of entry permits under AS 16.43.240 and not subject to a moratorium under AS 16.43.225, the commission shall issue interim-use permits under regulations adopted by the commission to all applicants who can establish thei…

(a) The commission shall adopt regulations specifying the dates and places of application, the procedures to be followed in renewal of the interim-use permit including the time, place of its renewal, and for any other purpose incident to the administration of interim-use permits …

(a) Subject to (b) of this section, the commission may establish a moratorium on new entrants into a fishery (1) that has experienced recent increases in fishing effort that are beyond a low, sporadic level of effort; (2) that has achieved a level of harvest that may be approachi…

(a) The commission may establish a moratorium on new entrants into the southeast Alaska Dungeness crab fishery for a continuous period of up to four years without complying with AS 16.43.225(a) — (c). While the moratorium is in effect, the commission shall (1) conduct the investi…

(a) [Repealed, § 4 ch 125 SLA 1996.] (b) [Repealed, § 4 ch 125 SLA 1996.] (c) [Repealed, § 4 ch 125 SLA 1996.] (d) [Repealed, § 4 ch 125 SLA 1996.] (e) [Repealed, § 22 ch 9 SLA 2014.] (f) Notwithstanding AS 16.43.225, for the purposes of this chapter, (1) an interim-use permit is…

Pending the determination of maximum numbers of entry permits under AS 16.43.240 and before the initial issue of entry permits under AS 16.43.270, the commission shall designate as distressed fisheries those for which it estimates that the optimum number of entry permits will be …

(a) Except as provided in AS 16.43.270(a), the maximum number of entry permits for a distressed fishery designated under AS 16.43.230 shall be the highest number of units of gear fished in that fishery during any one of the four years immediately preceding January 1, 1973. (b) Wh…

(a) Following the establishment of the maximum number of units of gear for a particular fishery under AS 16.43.240, the commission shall adopt regulations establishing qualifications for ranking applicants for entry permits according to the degree of hardship that they would suff…

(a) The commission shall accept applications for entry permits only from applicants who have harvested fishery resources commercially while participating in the fishery as holders of gear licenses issued under former AS 16.05.536 — 16.05.670 or interim-use permits under AS 16.43.…

(a) The commission shall issue entry permits, for each fishery, first to all qualified applicants in the priority classifications designated under AS 16.43.250(b) and then to qualified applicants in order of descending priority classification, until the number of entry permits is…

Article 4. Reduction to Optimum Number of Entry Permits.

Following the issuance of entry permits under AS 16.43.270, the commission shall establish the optimum number of entry permits for each fishery based upon a reasonable balance of the following general standards: (1) the number of entry permits sufficient to maintain an economical…

(a) The commission may increase or decrease the optimum number of entry permits for a fishery when one or more of the following conditions makes a change desirable considering the purposes of this chapter: (1) an established long-term change in the biological condition of the fis…

(a) When the optimum number of entry permits is less than the number of entry permits outstanding in a fishery, the commission may establish a buy-back program, a buy-back plan, and a buy-back fund for that fishery. (b) The commission may establish by regulation a permit buy-back…

The commission shall adopt regulations providing for the purchase of transferable entry permits with money in the buy-back fund for each fishery. The commission shall cease purchases of entry permits in a fishery when the number of entry permits in the fishery has been reduced to…

(a) When the number of outstanding entry permits for a fishery is less than the optimum number established under AS 16.43.290, the commission shall issue new entry permits to applicants who are presently able to engage actively in the fishery until the optimum number is reached. …

Article 5. Educational Entry Permits.

(a) In addition to entry permits and interim-use permits, the commission may issue educational entry permits to public, private, or denominational educational institutions accredited by the Department of Education and Early Development or accredited institutions, career, or vocat…

[Repealed or reserved.]

[Repealed or reserved.]

(a) Educational entry permits may be applied for on an annual basis and shall be issued for a term of one year. The permits are nontransferable. (b) A recipient may be issued an educational entry permit valid for designated fisheries in the administrative area the commission dete…

[Repealed or reserved.]

Fish caught under the authority of an educational entry permit are the property of the recipient of the permit. The recipient may sell the fish and use the proceeds to pay for the costs of the training program. Revenues generated from the sale of fish harvested under an education…

[Repealed or reserved.]

The recipient of an educational entry permit shall report to the commission costs and earnings, amount of harvest, and other information the commission requires to monitor training programs of recipients of educational entry permits.

[Repealed or reserved.]

(a) Use privileges granted under AS 16.43.340 — 16.43.390 are subject to the regulations of the Board of Fisheries, which may adopt regulations exclusively applicable to the use of educational entry permits. (b) The commission shall adopt regulations relating to the issuance of e…

Article 6. Special Harvest Area Entry Permits. In AS 16.43.340 — 16.43.390, “recipient” means the entity to which an educational entry permit is issued.

(a) In addition to entry permits, interim-use permits, and educational permits, the commission may issue special harvest area entry permits to (1) holders of private, nonprofit hatchery permits issued by the Department of Fish and Game under AS 16.10.400 — 16.10.475 for salmon; a…