Section 5 AAC 01.220 - Lawful gear and gear specifications(a) Salmon may be taken only by set and drift gillnet, dip net, beach seine, a hook and line attached to a rod or pole, handline, or fish wheel, subject to the restrictions set out in this section, 5 AAC 01.210, and 5 AAC 01.225 - 5 AAC 01.249.(b) In District 4, salmon may be taken by drift gillnets that are not more than 25 fathoms in length, unless closed by emergency order.(c) In Districts 5 and 6, salmon may not be taken for subsistence purposes by drift gillnets.(d) Unless otherwise specified in this section, fish other than salmon and halibut may be taken only by gillnet, dip net, beach seine, a hook and line attached to a rod or pole, handline, fish wheel, fyke net, jigging gear, spear, longline, lead, or eel stick.(e) The following apply to subsistence fishing: (1) a gillnet may not exceed seven and one-half inch mesh size;(2) the aggregate length of set gillnets in use by an individual may not exceed 150 fathoms;(3) each drift gillnet in use by an individual may not exceed 50 fathoms in length;(4) in Subdistrict 5-C, between the Waldron Creek ADF&G regulatory marker and Hess Creek, a single set gillnet in use may not exceed 25 fathoms in length;(5) subsistence set gillnets and fishwheels may not be operated within 200 feet of another gillnet or fishwheel except as follows: (A) at the site approximately one mile upstream from Ruby on the south bank of the Yukon River between ADF&G regulatory markers containing the area known locally as the "Slide" subsistence fishing gear may be set within 200 feet of other operating commercial or subsistence fishing gear;(B) in District 4, from Old Paradise Village upstream to a point four miles upstream from Anvik, there is no minimum distance requirement between fish wheels;(C) a person may operate a beach seine, longline, fyke net, dip net, jigging gear, spear, a hook and line attached to a rod or pole, handline, lead, or eel stick within 200 feet of another person operating subsistence fishing gear;(6) subsistence fishermen may operate one or more subsistence fishing gears at the same time;(7) a person may not subsistence fish while commercial or personal use fishing at the same time;(8) a gillnet may not obstruct more than one-half the width of any fish stream and any channel or side channel of a fish stream; a stationary fishing device may not obstruct more than one-half the width of any salmon stream and any channel or side channel of a salmon stream, except that in Racetrack Slough off of the Koyukuk River and in the sloughs of the Huslia River drainage, from when each river is free of ice through June 15, the offshore end of a set gillnet may not be closer than 20 feet from the opposite bank, unless closed by emergency order;(9) in that portion of Beaver Creek, not included in the nonsubsistence area specified in 5 AAC 99.015(a)(4), gillnet mesh size may not exceed four inches;(10) in Birch Creek, gillnet mesh size may not exceed four inches;(11) in the South Fork of the Koyukuk River drainage upstream from the mouth of the Jim River, and in the Middle Fork of the Koyukuk River drainage upstream from the mouth of the North Fork, gillnet gear may be used only from August 20 through June 30 and a gillnet mesh size may not exceed three and one-half inches; a subsistence permit is required as specified in 5 AAC 01.230(b)(9);(12) during the subsistence fishing closures specified in 5 AAC 01.210(b), all salmon gillnets with a mesh size greater than four inches must be removed from the water and fish wheels may not be operated;(13) a beach seine may not be constructed of monofilament web and may not exceed (A) 150 fathoms in length;(C) a mesh size of four inches stretched measure;(14) coinciding with the migratory timing of the fall chum salmon run, a person may not take fish with a gillnet that has a mesh size greater than six inches through October 30, unless altered by emergency order;(15) in the Coastal District and Districts 1 and 2, unless a person is fishing under the ice, the float line and floats of gillnets must be floating on the surface of the water while the net is fishing unless natural conditions cause the net to temporarily sink;(16) in Districts 3-6, unless a person is fishing under the ice, gillnets in operation sunk below the surface must have a keg, buoy, or cluster of floats visible on the surface of the water at each end of the submerged net, and for submerged gillnets over 60 feet in length, a third keg, buoy, or cluster of floats must be attached to the middle of the net.(f) Northern pike may not be taken with gillnets in the waters of the Tolovana River drainage from October 15 through April 14. (g) Halibut may be taken only by a single hand-held line with no more than three hooks attached.(h) A person may use a hook and line attached to a rod or pole when subsistence fishing only (1) in the waters between the latitude of Point Romanof and the latitude of the westernmost point of the Naskonat Peninsula, (A) including those waters draining into the Bering Sea and those of the Yukon River drainage;(B) excluding the areas described in 5 AAC 01.225, the Koyukuk River subsistence permit area described in 5 AAC 01.230(b)(9), the Tanana River drainage, Birch Creek upstream of the Steese Highway Bridge, and the Dall River drainage; or(i) In District 4, from September 21 through May 15, jigging gear may be used from shore ice.(j) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, during times when the commissioner determines it is necessary for the conservation of a salmon species, the commissioner may, by emergency order, close the fishing season on any portion of the Yukon Area and immediately reopen the season in that area during which one or more of the following gear limitations may be implemented: (1) all salmon must be immediately released to the water alive unless retention is allowed by emergency order;(2) a gillnet used to take fish (A) must be of either four-inch or less mesh, four and three-quarter inch or less mesh, six-inch or less mesh, or seven and one-half inch mesh;(B) may not, for a gillnet as specified in (A) of this paragraph, exceed the length specified by the commissioner in the emergency order, and the gillnet may be specified for operation as a set or drift gillnet; if specified, no part of a set gillnet may be more than 100 feet from the ordinary high water mark;(3) for fish wheels: (A) the operator must closely attend the fish wheel while it is in operation; and(B) all salmon must be immediately released to the water alive and must bypass any livebox unless retention is allowed by emergency order;(4) dip nets may be used; however, all salmon caught with a dip net must be released to the water alive unless retention is allowed by emergency order;(5) a beach seine may be used; however, all salmon caught with a beach seine must be released to the water alive unless retention is allowed by emergency order.(k) For the purposes of this section, a "livebox" is a submerged container that is attached to a fish wheel and that will keep fish caught by the fish wheel alive.In effect before 1982; am 4/14/82, Register 82; am 4/16/83, Register 86; am 6/30/83, Register 86; am 9/22/84, Register 91; am 5/11/85, Register 94; am 5/31/87, Register 102; am 4/2/88, Register 105; am 7/16/92, Register 123; am/readopt 5/15/93, Register 126; am 7/3/94, Register 130; am 8/17/94, Register 131; am 3/24/95, Register 133; am 6/21/97, Register 142; am 6/10/98, Register 146; am 6/17/98, Register 146; am 7/5/2000, Register 155; am 6/17/2001, Register 158; am 5/19/2004, Register 170; am 8/23/2009, Register 191; am 5/19/2010, Register 194; am 5/12/2011, Register 198; am 7/13/2012, Register 203; am 5/24/2015, Register 214, July 2015; am 5/22/2016, Register 218, July 2016; am 8/10/2018, Register 227, October 2018; am 6/28/2019, Register 230, May 2019; am 5/24/2023, Register 246, July 2023; am 6/25/2023, Register 246, July 2023Authority:AS 16.05.060
AS 16.05.251
AS 16.05.258