Section 5 AAC 28.367 - Cook Inlet Pacific Cod Management Plan(a) The management plan in this section governs the harvest of Pacific cod in the Cook Inlet Area.(b) Each year the commissioner (1) shall open and close, by emergency order, a parallel season in the Cook Inlet Area to coincide with the initial federal season in the federal Central Gulf of Alaska Area during which the use of the gear allowed in the federal season for Pacific cod is permitted, unless use of that gear is prohibited under 5 AAC 28.050, 5 AAC 28.330, or 5 AAC 28.350;(2) may open and close, by emergency order, a parallel season to coincide with the federal Central Gulf of Alaska Area "B" season, during which the use of the gear allowed in the federal season for Pacific cod is permitted, unless use of that gear is prohibited under 5 AAC 28.050, 5 AAC 28.330, or 5 AAC 28.350.(c) The commissioner shall open, by emergency order, a state-waters season for mechanical jigging machine and hand troll gear and groundfish pot gear in the Cook Inlet Area 24 hours following the closure of the initial federal season in the federal Central Gulf of Alaska Area for jig gear and pot gear and shall close or reopen, by emergency order, the state-waters season, as follows: (1) close the state-waters season for mechanical jigging machine and hand troll gear when 15 percent of the guideline harvest level is taken by mechanical jigging machine and hand troll gear, 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; if 90 percent of the mechanical jigging machine and hand troll gear allocation is reached in any calendar year, the allocation to that gear will increase by five percent beginning the following calendar year to a maximum of 25 percent;(2) close the state-waters season for pot gear when a maximum of 85 percent of the guideline harvest level, or the percentage of the guideline harvest level as adjusted by any change in the mechanical jigging machine and hand troll gear allocation as specified in (1) of this subsection, is taken by pot gear, a parallel season for pot gear is opened under (b)(2) of this section, or December 31, whichever occurs first;(3) 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 the closure of a parallel season; 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 of 5 AAC 28.371 until the season is closed again;(4) close the state-waters season for vessels longer than 58 feet in overall length fishing with pot gear when 25 percent of the guideline harvest level has been taken by those vessels, unless the state-waters season for pot gear has already been closed for the remainder of the season under (2) of this subsection; this restriction does not apply if the season for pot gear is still open under (3) of this subsection.(d) The commissioner may open and close, by emergency order, fishing seasons at times other than those specified in this management plan if the commissioner determines it is necessary to (1) adapt to unanticipated openings and 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 Cook Inlet Area is 3.75 percent of the estimated total allowable harvest of Pacific cod for the federal Central Gulf of Alaska Area;(2) Pacific cod may be taken only with groundfish pot gear, mechanical jigging machines, and hand troll 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 groundfish pot gear or with mechanical jigging machine and hand troll gear (jig 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 Homer, or other locations specified by the department, for validation, and that registration has been validated by the department.(f) The Cook Inlet Area is an exclusive registration area for Pacific cod during a state-waters season.(g) If at any time after October 30 the commissioner determines that the guideline harvest level for Pacific cod will not be reached by December 31, the commissioner may close, by emergency order, the fishing season and immediately reopen a state-waters season during which the following shall be implemented to increase the harvest rate 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 Cook Inlet Area as a nonexclusive registration area for Pacific cod.(h) If the 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 28.371 until the season is closed again.(i) 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 Cook Inlet 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 Homer, 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 Cook Inlet Area state-waters season for Pacific cod.(j) A vessel participating in a parallel Pacific cod season in the Cook Inlet 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 7/21/99, Register 151; am 5/31/2001, Register 158; am 2/13/2005, Register 173; am 4/9/2005, Register 174; am 3/2/2011, Register 197; am 4/20/2012, Register 202; am 4/24/2020, Register 234, April 2020Authority:AS 16.05.060
AS 16.05.251