Section 5 AAC 27.365 - Prince William Sound Herring Management Plan(a) The purpose of the Prince William Sound herring management plan in this section is to describe management strategies for all Prince William Sound herring fisheries and to provide for an optimum sustained yield and an equitable allocation for all user groups.(b) The management plan for herring fisheries in Prince William Sound assumes that all of these fisheries use a single stock of herring which may be harvested at the rate of zero to 20 percent of the spawning biomass. The management year for herring is July 1 through June 30. Guideline harvest levels are established before the food and bait season in the fall and are based upon the final spawning biomass estimate from the previous year, cohort analysis, and projected recruitment. The minimum spawning biomass threshold is 22,000 tons, and no fishery may be opened if the estimated spawning biomass is below this threshold level. The department may allow, based upon age class strength, a harvest of herring at an exploitation rate between zero and 20 percent of the projected spawning biomass when that biomass is between 22,000 tons and 42,500 tons. The department may allow a harvest of herring at a maximum exploitation rate of 20 percent when the total projected spawning biomass is greater than 42,500 tons.(c) The guideline harvest of herring is allocated by fishery as follows: (1) purse seine sac roe fishery: 58.1 percent;(2) gillnet sac roe fishery: 3.4 percent;(3) food and bait fishery: 16.3 percent;(4) spawn-on-kelp not in pounds: 8.0 percent; and(5) spawn-on-kelp in pounds: 14.2 percent.(d) Harvest quotas for the spawn-on-kelp fisheries are derived as follows: (1) spawn-on-kelp not in pounds: one ton of spawn-on-kelp may be taken for every eight tons of herring allocated to this fishery;(2) spawn-on-kelp in pounds: the spawn-on-kelp in pounds harvest objective will be set based on the ratio of one ton of spawn on kelp for every 12.5 tons of herring allocated to this fishery; the commissioner, or an authorized designee, shall manage the fishery to achieve this harvest objective by restricting those persons holding a CFEC permit to participate in the fishery to a specified number of kelp blades annually based on the number of permit holders registered under 5 AAC 27.334(a) to fish with pounds, and to an equal portion of the guideline harvest of herring allocated in (c)(5) of this section based on the total number of permit holders.Eff. 4/9/89, Register 110; am 4/30/91, Register 118; am 9/17/94, Register 131; am 4/24/2003, Register 166