Section 5 AAC 29.100 - Management of the summer salmon troll fishery(a) During the summer salmon troll fishery, salmon may be taken only during open fishing periods. Unless otherwise specified in this section or by emergency order, salmon may be taken throughout the Southeastern Alaska-Yakutat Area unless restricted (1) by a provision of this section; or(2) in the closed waters specified in 5 AAC 29.150.(b) The department shall manage the fishery as specified in (c) of this section until the annual harvest allocation specified in 5 AAC 29.060 is reached.(c) The department shall manage the summer king salmon troll fishery as follows: (1) the department shall manage the summer king salmon troll fishery (A) to take 70 percent of the remaining troll king salmon harvest allocation, calculated as the annual troll harvest allocation minus the winter and spring troll harvests of treaty king salmon, in an initial opening beginning July 1; and(B) to take the remaining portion of the troll king salmon harvest allocation, calculated as the annual troll harvest allocation minus the winter, spring, and initial July 1 opening harvest of treaty king salmon, as follows: (i) following the reopening of the king salmon troll fishery after any closure of a coho salmon troll fishery; or(ii) if a closure is not necessary to achieve coho salmon harvest guidelines after the reopening of the king salmon troll fishery, no later than August 20, but only following a two-day closure to allow a fair start;(2) in order to provide for the harvest of the remaining portion of the troll king salmon harvest allocation following a coho salmon closure, the department shall manage the king salmon harvest as follows: (A) if approximately 70 percent or more of the remaining troll king salmon harvest allocation was taken during the initial opening under (1)(A) of this subsection, the commissioner shall close, by emergency order, the waters of frequent high king salmon abundance described in 5 AAC 29.025 for the remainder of the summer salmon troll season in order to slow down the harvest rate; however, if after 10 days, the department determines that the annual troll king salmon harvest allocation may not be reached by September 20 with those waters closed, the commissioner shall reopen, by emergency order, the waters of frequent high king salmon abundance;(B) the department shall reopen the summer king salmon troll fishery in the waters of frequent high king salmon abundance described in 5 AAC 29.025 if the department determines that less than 30 percent of the king salmon harvest goal for the initial opening under (1)(A) of this subsection was taken in that opening;(C) in addition to (A) and (B) of this paragraph, if the department determines that the annual troll king salmon harvest allocation will not be harvested by September 20, the department may continue the summer king salmon troll fishery only in waters with no coho salmon conservation concerns, until the annual troll king salmon harvest allocation is reached or until September 30, whichever occurs first;(D) if the department determines that the number of king salmon remaining on the annual troll king salmon harvest allocation is not sufficient to allow a competitive fishery, the commissioner mav, by emergency order, reopen the troll fishery to the taking of king salmon during a limited harvest fishery, subject to the following conditions: (i) a limited harvest fishery may be opened for up to 10 days, but may not open before September 1; (ii) the remaining amount of the king salmon annual harvest allocation will be distributed subject to an established harvest limit; (iii) king salmon retained during a limited harvest fishery must be kept separate from other salmon on board the vessel; (iv) both commercially sold king salmon and king salmon retained for personal use during a limited harvest fishery count toward the harvest limit;(v) a copy of fish tickets documenting commercially sold king salmon or king salmon retained for personal use during a limited harvest fishery must be kept on board the vessel while operating gear in a limited harvest fishery and during transits to or from a port of landing; (vi) fish tickets must be made available to a local representative of the department upon request; (vii) after the closure of a limited harvest fishing period, all king salmon must be offloaded from a vessel before that vessel may be used to resume fishing for other salmon species; (viii) any other conditions the commissioner determines necessary to conduct an orderly limited harvest fishery;(3) following the closure of the summer salmon troll fishery to the taking of king salmon, the salmon troll fishery will remain open to the taking of other salmon species; however, the department may close the waters of frequent high king salmon abundance described in 5 AAC 29.025 to the taking of other salmon species in order to further minimize the incidental hook and release of king salmon.(d) In Sections 1-C, 1-E, and 1-F, salmon may be taken only as follows: (1) Section 1-C: from August 15 through September 20;(2) Section 1-E: (A) in the waters of Section 1-E, bounded by a line from the southernmost tip of Nose Point to a point in West Behm Canal at 55° 48.73' N. lat., 131° 44.01' W. long., located approximately one mile west of Nose Point, then south to a point at 55° 43.92' N. lat., 131° 45.44' W. long., located approximately one mile west of the northernmost tip of Bushy Point, then south to a point at 55° 39.09' N. lat., 131° 44.69' W. long., located approximately one mile west of Escape Point, to the northernmost tip of Escape Point, and in waters of Neets Bay west of the longitude of the southernmost tip of Chin Point and in Traitors Cove west of 131° 41.80 ' W. long., from July 1 through September 20;(B) all other waters of Section 1-E, from July 13 through September 20;(3) Section 1-F: open from July 1 through September 20, with the following restrictions: (A) from July 1 through July 12, the waters of Section 1-F east of a line from the northernmost tip of Kirk Point at 54° 59.98' N. lat., 131° 00.78' W. long. to Mary Island Light at 55° 05.90' N. lat., 131° 10.89' W. long. to the southernmost tip of Cone Island at 55° 14.47' N. lat., 131° 19.36' W. long. are closed;(B) from July 13 through July 31, the waters of Section 1-F east of a line from the southernmost tip of Black Island at 55° 07.84' N. lat., 131° 04.89' W. long. to the westernmost tip of Slate Island at 55° 05.68' N. lat., 131° 03.92' W. long. to the westernmost tip of White Reef at 55° 03.95' N. lat., 131° 02.51' W. long. to the easternmost tip of Black Rock at 55° 01.37' N. lat., 131° 03.62' W. long. to the northermost tip of Kirk Point at 54° 59.98' N. lat., 131° 00.78' W. long., are closed;(e) In District 8: the weekly fishing periods for trolling are the same as for drift gillnetting.(f) In District 11: salmon may be taken only in Sections 11-C and 11-D.(g) In District 15: salmon may be taken only in Sections 15-A and 15-C.(i) In the Yakataga and Yakutat Districts, (2) from August 7 through September 20, salmon may not be taken in waters bounded on the west by the three-nautical-mile limit of the territorial sea and on the north by a line extending seaward from 59° 30.49' N. lat., 139° 46.58' W. long, intersecting the three-nautical-mile limit at 59° 28.65' N. lat., 139° 51.17' W. long.1 and on the south by a line extending seaward from 59° 21.07' N. lat., 139° 19.73' W. long., and intersecting the threeuautical- mile limit at 59° 19.14' N lat., 139° 24.83' W. long.(j) Following closure of the summer salmon troll fishery to the taking of king salmon, a person may not have king salmon on board a salmon troll vessel from which the person is fishing for other salmon species.(k) A CFEC permit holder that participates in the summer salmon troll fishery must offload all fish from the CFEC permit holder's vessel before participating in the winter salmon troll fishery.Eff. 10/1/98, Register 147; am 7/26/2003, Register 167; am 5/26/2006, Register 178; am 5/31/2009, Register 190; am 7/13/2012, Register 203; am 7/1/2015, Register 214, July 2015; am 6/17/2018,Register 226, July 2018Before Register 147, Oct. 1998, the substance of 5 AAC 29.100 was contained in former 5 AAC 30.310(b), 5 AAC 30.392(d), 5 AAC 33.311(b), (e), (f), (h), (j), (l), (m), (n), 5 AAC 33.365(b) (16), and 5 AAC 33.392(e). The history note for 5 AAC 29.100 does not contain the history of the provision before Register 147, Oct. 1998.
Authority:AS 16.05.060
AS 16.05.251