Section 5 AAC 28.050 - Lawful gear for groundfish(a) Unless otherwise provided or restricted by specific groundfish regulations in this chapter, groundfish may be taken only by trawls, hand troll gear, seines, mechanical jigging machines, dinglebar troll gear, longlines, or pots, except that (1) king and Tanner crab pots as described in 5 AAC 34.050(2) and 5 AAC 35.050(2) may not be used to take groundfish;(b) All commercial longline or skate gear buoys, or kegs and buoys for groundfish pots, must be marked as follows:(1) at least one buoy on each groundfish pot must be legibly marked with the permanent ADF&G vessel license plate number of the vessel operating the gear on the top one-half of the buoy in numerals at least four inches high, one-half inch wide, and in a color that contrasts with the color of the buoy; the buoy markings must be visible on the buoy above the water surface when the buoy is attached to the groundfish pot;(2) each end of a groundfish pot longline must have an attached buov marked with the permanent ADF&G vessel plate number of the vessel operating the groundfish longlined pot gear; the buoy must have the letters LP to designate the gear as longlined groundfish pot gear and the buov may bear only the number of the vessel operating the ear; the numbers and letters must be marked in the top one-half of the buov in numbers and letters that are at least four inches high, one-half inch wide, and in a color that contrasts with the color of the buov; the buov markings must be visible on the buov above the water's surface when the buoy is attached to the longlined pot gear: for the purposes of this subsection, "longlined" means more than one groundfish pot is attached to a stationary, buoyed, and anchored line.(e) A groundfish pot is a pot with individual tunnel eye openings with perimeters 36 inches or less.(f) Pot or buoy identification requirements for groundfish pots are as follows: (1) in a registration area or a portion of a registration area where a groundfish pot limit is in effect (A) each groundfish pot must have one identification tag issued by the department placed on the main buoy or on the trailer buoy if more than one buoy is attached to the pot; the main or trailer buoy may not display more than one tag issued under this subsection, and that tag must be the one that was issued for the year that the fishery is occurring; or(B) when groundfish pots are operated as a groundfish not longline, each groundfish pot must have one identification tag issued by the department placed on each pot; any buoy attached to the longline may not display an identification tag, and the pot may not display more than one tag issued under this subsection, and that tag must be issued for the year the fishing is occurring:(2) identification tags are issued before each fishing season, are uniquely numbered for each registration year, and will be issued at the time of vessel registration for that vessel only; the vessel owner, or the owner's agent, shall apply for identification tags at a department office designated to issue the tags; replacement of tags lost during the season is permitted if the vessel operator submits a sworn statement or affidavit, by mail, facsimile, or in person, to a department office designated to issue tags, describing how the tags were lost and listing the numbers of the lost tags; tags shall be renewed annually before each fishing season.Eff. 7/30/89, Register 111; am 5/2/92, Register 122; am 9/22/93, Register 127; am 6/15/95, Register 134; am 4/4/97, Register 142; am 5/31/98, Register 146; am 5/19/2001, Register 158; am 6/25/2023, Register 246, July 2023; am 10/25/2023, Register 248, January 2024, exp. 2/21/2024 (Emergency)As of Register 146, July 1998 the substance of 5 AAC 28.050(a) (2) and (c) appear in 5 AAC 28.133.