Section 5 AAC 28.267 - Prince William Sound Pacific Cod Management Plan(a) The management plan in this section governs the harvest of Pacific cod in the Prince William Sound Area.(b) Each year the commissioner (1) shall open and close, by emergency order, a parallel season for mechanical jigging machine and hand troll gear, groundfish pot gear, and longline gear in the Prince William Sound Area to coincide with the initial federal season in the federal Central Gulf of Alaska Area, as follows: (A) the parallel season for mechanical jigging machine and hand troll gear will coincide with the initial federal season for jig gear;(B) the parallel season for groundfish pot gear will coincide with the initial federal season for pot gear;(C) the parallel season for longline gear will coincide with the initial federal season for hook and line gear operated from vessels less than 50 feet in overall length;(2) may open and close, by emergency order, a parallel season for mechanical jigging machine and hand troll gear, groundfish pot gear, and longline gear in the Prince William Sound Area to coincide with the federal Central Gulf of Alaska Area "B" season, as follows: (A) the parallel season for mechanical jigging machine and hand troll gear will coincide with the federal "B" season for jig gear;(B) the parallel season for groundfish pot gear will coincide with the federal "B" season for pot gear;(C) the parallel season for longline gear will coincide with the federal "B" season for hook and line gear operated from vessels less than 50 feet in overall length.(c) The commissioner shall open and close, by emergency order, a state-waters season for mechanical jigging machine and hand troll gear, groundfish pot gear, and longline gear in the Prince William Sound Area, as follows: (1) for mechanical jigging machine and hand troll gear, the state-waters season will open 24 hours following the closure of the initial federal season in the Central Gulf of Alaska Area for jig gear and will close when the mechanical jigging machine and hand troll gear and groundfish pot gear allocation, as calculated under (e)(1) of this section, is taken, a parallel season for mechanical jigging machine and hand troll gear is opened under (b)(2) of this section, or December 31, whichever occurs first; (2) for groundfish pot gear, the state-waters season will open 24 hours following the closure of the initial federal season in the Central Gulf of Alaska Area for groundfish pot gear and will close when the mechanical jigging machine and hand troll gear and groundfish pot gear allocation, as calculated under (e)(1) of this section, is taken, a parallel season for groundfish pot gear is opened under (b)(2) of this section, or December 31, whichever occurs first; (3) for longline gear, the state-waters season will open seven days following the closure of the initial federal season in the Central Gulf of Alaska Area for hook and line gear operated from vessels less than 50 feet in overall length or concurrent with the individual fishing quota halibut season opening date, whichever occurs later, and will close when the longline gear allocation, as calculated under (e)(1) of this section, is taken, a parallel season for longline gear is opened under (b)(2) of this section, or December 31, whichever occurs first;(4) if there is any guideline harvest level remaining on September 1, the commissioner may close, by emergency order, the state-waters season and immediately reopen a state-waters season to all legal gear on September 1 or following a parallel season closure; the state-waters season will close on December 31 or when the guideline harvest level is reached, whichever occurs first; if the season is closed and immediately reopened under this paragraph, a vessel participating in the state-waters season when it was closed will not be required to comply with the landing requirements specified in 5 AAC 28.371 until the season is closed again. (d) The commissioner may open and close, by emergency order, fishing seasons at times other than those specified in this section if the commissioner determines it is necessary to (1) adapt to unanticipated openings or closures of the federal season;(2) maintain sustained yield management;(3) provide for orderly fisheries; or(4) allow for a concurrent state-waters season and federal season for Pacific cod based on inseason assessment of effort, harvest rate, or remaining Pacific cod quota.(e) During a state-waters season, (1) the guideline harvest level for Pacific cod in the Prince William Sound Area is 25 percent of the estimated total allowable harvest of Pacific cod for the federal Eastern Gulf of Alaska Area; mechanical jigging machine and hand troll gear and groundfish pot gear is allocated 15 percent of the guideline harvest level and longline gear is allocated 85 percent of the guideline harvest level, except that if (A) guideline harvest level allocated to the mechanical jigging machine and hand troll gear and groundfish pot gear allocation is taken in any calendar year, the mechanical jigging machine and hand troll gear and groundfish pot gear allocation will increase by five percent beginning the following calendar year to a maximum of 30 percent of the guideline harvest level and the longline allocation will decrease by a corresponding five percent the following calendar year to a minimum of 70 percent of the guideline harvest level; and (B) guideline harvest level allocated to the mechanical jigging machine and hand troll gear and groundfish pot gear is not taken in any calendar year, the mechanical jigging machine and hand troll gear and groundfish pot gear allocation will decrease by five percent beginning the following calendar year to a minimum of 15 percent of the guideline harvest level and the longline allocation will increase by a corresponding five percent the following calendar year to a maximum of 85 percent of the guideline harvest level; (2) Pacific cod may be taken in the waters of the Prince William Sound Area described in 5 AAC 28.205, except those waters of the Eastern Section east of 146º 15.12' W. long.;(3) Pacific cod may be taken only with groundfish pots, mechanical jigging machines, hand troll gear, and longline gear, as follows: (A) except as provided in (g) of this section, no more than 60 groundfish pots may be operated from a vessel registered to fish for Pacific cod;(B) no more than five mechanical jigging machines may be operated from a vessel registered to fish for Pacific cod;(C) in addition to the requirements of 5 AAC 28.020, a vessel must be registered to fish with mechanical jigging machines and hand troll gear (jig gear), pot gear, or longline gear, and may not simultaneously be registered to fish with more than one gear type; a vessel's gear registration may be changed during a state-waters season to a different gear registration if the owner, or the owner's agent, submits a written request for a change in registration by mail, facsimile, or in person, to the department office in Cordova, or other locations specified by the department, for validation, and that registration has been validated by the department.(f) During a state-waters season for Pacific cod, the Prince William Sound Area is (1) an exclusive registration area for a vessel validly registered to take Pacific cod with groundfish pot gear or longline gear; and(2) a nonexclusive registration area for a vessel validly registered to take Pacific cod with mechanical jigging machine and hand troll gear. (g) If at any time after October 30 the commissioner determines that the guideline harvest level will not be reached by December 31, the commissioner may close, by emergency order, the state-waters season and immediately reopen a state-waters season during which the following shall be implemented to increase the harvest to achieve the guideline harvest level: (1) removal of the limits on the number of groundfish pots and mechanical jigging machines that may be operated from a vessel;(2) if needed, designation of the Prince William Sound Area as a nonexclusive registration area for Pacific cod.(h) If the state-waters season is closed and immediately reopened under (g) of this section, a vessel participating in the state-waters season when it was closed will not be required to comply with the landing requirements of 5 AAC 28.271 until the season is closed again.(i) Notwithstanding the provisions of 5 AAC 28.070, the commissioner may, by emergency order, open a fishing season under this subsection in which the bycatch amounts allowed during a directed fishery are increased. During a fishing season opened under this subsection, in addition to the allowance of bycatch of other species specified in 5 AAC 28.070, the bycatch allowance of Pacific cod may be up to 20 percent of the directed finfish species on board a vessel using groundfish pot gear, mechanical jigging machine and hand troll gear, or longline gear. The landed weight of Pacific cod taken as bycatch may not exceed 20 percent of the directed finfish species on board the vessel. The commissioner may, by emergency order, close and immediately reopen a season in which the bycatch limit for any species is reduced.(j) If a state-waters season and a federal season for Pacific cod are opened concurrently for the same gear type or for a different gear type, (1) a vessel may not participate in a state-waters season and any other Pacific cod season at the same time;(2) a vessel's registration for the state-waters season in the Prince William Sound Area must be invalidated and all groundfish on board that vessel must be landed before that vessel may participate in any other concurrent Pacific cod season;(3) registration for a state-waters season may only occur in person or by facsimile from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on a working day at the department office in Cordova, or other locations specified by the department; and(4) all groundfish on board a vessel must be landed before that vessel may be registered for a Prince William Sound Area state-waters season for Pacific cod.(k) An operator of a vessel participating in a parallel Pacific cod season in the Prince William Sound Area may not operate gear in any other registration area during the same trip.Eff. 4/4/97, Register 142; am 11/27/97, Register 144; am 3/30/2000, Register 153; am 7/5/2000, Register 155; am 5/31/2001, Register 158; am 5/11/2003, Register 166; am 3/14/2009, Register 189; am 4/20/2012, Register 202; am 3/29/2015, Register 213, April 2015; am 3/27/2022, Register 241, April 2022Authority:AS 16.05.060
AS 16.05.251