Section 5 AAC 58.022 - Waters; seasons; bag, possession, annual, and size limits; and special provisions for Cook Inlet - Resurrection Bay Saltwater Area(a) Except as provided in (b) and (c) of this section, and unless otherwise specified in this chapter, the following are the seasons, bag, possession, annual, and size limits, and special provisions for finfish and shellfish in the Cook Inlet - Resurrection Bay Saltwater Area: (1) king salmon: may be taken from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of two fish; no size limit; an annual harvest limit of five king salmon 20 inches or greater in length, except as provided in (c) of this section; a harvest record is required as specified in 5 AAC 75.006; a king salmon 20 inches or greater in length that is removed from the water shall be retained and becomes a part of the bag limit of the person originally hooking it; a person may not remove a king salmon from the water before releasing the fish;(2) salmon, other than king salmon: may be taken from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of six fish, of which only three per day and in possession may be coho salmon; no size limit;(3) rainbow/steelhead trout: no open season; may not be retained or possessed; all rainbow/steelhead trout caught must be released immediately; a person may not remove a rainbow/steelhead trout from the water;(4) Arctic char/Dolly Varden: may be taken from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of five fish; no size limit;(5) halibut: may be taken only from February 1 - December 31; bag limit of two fish; possession limit of four fish; no size limit;(6) rockfish: may be taken from January 1 - December 31; bag limit of three fish and six in possession, of which only one per day and two in possession may be nonpelagic rockfish as defined in 5 AAC 75.995; no size limit;(7) lingcod: may only be taken from July 1 - December 31; bag limit of one fish and possession limit of two fish; minimum size is 35 inches in length with the head attached or, if the head is removed, 28 inches in length from the front of the dorsal fin to the top of the tail;(8) sharks may be taken only as specified in 5 AAC 75.012;(9) king crab: no open season; may not be retained or possessed;(10) Dungeness crab: no open season; may not be retained or possessed;(11) Tanner crab: may be taken as follows: (A) only from September 1 - March 15, except as specified under 5 AAC 35.410(c); bag and possession limit of five male crab, annual limit of 40 male crab; minimum size is four and one-half inches across the widest part of the shell, including spines; a shellfish harvest recording form is required as specified in 5 AAC 58.026;(B) notwithstanding the provisions of (a)(11)(A) of this section, if the provisions of 5 AAC 35.408(d) apply, then male Tanner crab may be taken only from October 1 through the last day of February; bag and possession limit of three male craba annual limit of 20 male crab; minimum size is four and one-half inches across the widest part of the shell, including spines; no more than one pot or ring net per person with a maximum of one pot or ring net per vessel; a shellfish harvest recording form is required as specified in 5 AAC 58.026;(12) littleneck clams and butter clams: no open season; may not be retained or possessed(14) razor clams: may be taken from January 1 - December 31 as follows: (A) from the mouth of the Kenai River to the southernmost tip of the Homer Spit: the bag limit is the first 60 clams taken or possessed; the possession limit is 120 clams;(B) on the remaining beaches of the Cook Inlet - Resurrection Bay Area: the bag and possession, limits are the first 10 gallons taken or possessed; all clams taken or possessed must must be retained;(15) shrimp: no open season; may not be retained or possessed;(16) other finfish and shellfish not specified in this subsection: from January 1 - December 31; no bag, possession, or size limits.(b) The seasons, bag, possession, and size limits, and special provisions set out in this subsection are localized exceptions to those specified in (a) of this section for the Cook Inlet - Resurrection Bay Saltwater Area: (1) in waters of Cook Inlet north of the latitude of Bluff Point (59° 40.00' N. lat.): (A) king salmon: (i) from April 1 - August 31; bag and possession limit of one fish; no size limit; an annual harvest limit of five king salmon 20 inches or greater in length, except as provided in (c) of this section; a harvest record is required as specified in 5 AAC 75.006; a king salmon 20 inches or greater in length that is removed from the water shall be retained and becomes a part of the bag limit of the person originally hooking it; a person may not remove a king salmon from the water before releasing the fish;(iii) repealed 3/15/2017;(iv) from September 1 - March 31, king salmon are not required to be entered on a harvest record and do not count against the annual limit specified in (a)(l) of this section;(2) in the waters of Cook Inlet south of the latitude of Bluff Point at 59° 40.00' N. lat., including all of Kachemak Bay, to the latitude of Cape Douglas at 58° 51.10' N. lat., and east to the longitude of Gore Point at 150° 57.85' W. long.: (B) salmon, other than king salmon: in the waters from the Homer city dock near the entrance of the Homer Boat Harbor, including the entire Homer Boat Harbor, northwest along the east side of the Homer Spit to an ADF&G regulatory marker located approximately 200 yards northwest of the entrance to the fishery enhancement lagoon on the Homer Spit, including the enhancement lagoon, and to a distance 300 feet from the shore, the bag and possession limit for salmon, other than king salmon, is six fish, of which six per day and in possession may be coho salmon;(C) a person 16 years of age or older may not sport fish in the Homer Spit youth fishery zone, established by ADF&G regulatory markers to include a portion of the Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon, during designated youth fishery days, which occur on the first Saturday in June and the first Saturday in August;(D) Tanner crab: in Kachemak Bay, east of a line from Point Pogibshi to Anchor Point, the open season is from September 1 - December 31 and from January 15 or the beginning of the commercial Tanner crab season, whichever is later, through March 15;(E) in the waters of Tutka Bay Lagoon sport fishing is prohibited within 100 yards of the Tutka Bay Lagoon hatchery net pens;(F) The waters near the entrance of the Homer Spit Marine Terminal barge basin from ADF & G regulatory markers located at approximately 59° 36.90' N. lat., 151° 26.80' W. long., north to 59° 36.95' N. lat, 151° 26.85' W. long., and including the entire Homer Spit Marine Terminal barge basin, are closed to all sport fishing;(3) in waters east of the longitude of Gore Point (150º 57.85' W. long.), to the longitude of Cape Fairfield (148º 50.25' W. long.), and north of the latitude of Cape Douglas (58º 51.10' N. lat.): (A) in the salt waters north of a line between Cape Resurrection and Aialik Cape (Resurrection Bay Terminal Harvest Area): (i) king salmon: from May 1 - August 31, the bag and possession limit is two fish; from September 1 - April 30, the bag and possession limit is one fish; king salmon do not need to be entered on a harvest record and do not count against the annual limit set out in (a)(1) of this section;(ii) salmon, other than king salmon: bag and possession limit is six fish, of which six per day and in possession may be coho salmon;(iii) lingcod: no open season; may not be retained or possessed;(B) in the salt waters south of a line between Cape Resurrection and Aialik Cape: (i) king salmon: from January 1 - December 31, the bag and possession limit is one fish; king salmon do not need to be entered on a harvest record and do not count against the annual limit set out in (a)(1) of this section;(ii) salmon, other than king salmon: bag and possession limit between Gore Point and Cape Fairfield is six fish, of which only three per day and in possession may be coho salmon;(iii) lingcod: may only be taken from July 1 - December 31; bag limit of one fish and possession limit of two fish; minimum size is 35 inches in length with the head attached or, if the head is removed, 28 inches in length from the front of the dorsal fin to the top of the tail;(4) the following waters are closed to the taking of all shellfish: (A) the intertidal beach along Shipwreck Cove in China Poot Bay enclosed by a line from 59º 34.34' N. lat., 151º 18.11' W. long., to 59º 34.26' N. lat., 151º 17.96' W. long., to 59º 34.20' N. lat., 151º 17.94' W. long., to 59º 34.19' N. lat., 151º 17.81' W. long., to 59º 34.13' N. lat. to 151º 17.75' W. long., to 59º 34.13' N. lat., 151º 17.77' W. long., to 59º 34.19' N. lat., 151º 17.96' W. long., to 59º 34.26' N. lat., 151º 17.98' W. long., to 59º 34.33' N. lat., 151º 18.14' W. long., as marked by ADF&G regulatory markers located in the upper intertidal area;(B) the intertidal beach by Otter Rock in Peterson Bay enclosed by a line from 59º 34.78' N. lat., 151º 17.84' W. long., to 59º 34.70' N. lat., 151º 17.68' W. long., to 59º 34.79' N. lat., 151º 17.68' W. long., as marked by ADF&G regulatory markers located in the upper intertidal area.(c) Notwithstanding an annual limit established in this section for king salmon, the annual limit for king salmon in the combined waters of the Cook Inlet-Resurrection Bay Saltwater Area and the other areas in the Cook Inlet region that are open to sport fishing for king salmon under 5 AAC 56 - 5 AAC 62 is five king salmon 20 inches or greater in length, not more than two of which may be taken from that portion of the Kenai River drainage open to king salmon fishing, and not more than two of which may be taken, in combination, from Deep Creek and the Anchor River, except that from January 1 through June 30, a king salmon less than 28 inches in length taken from the Kenai River does not count towards the annual limit.Eff. 2/25/98, Register 145; am 3/5/99, Register 149; am 6/13/99, Register 150; am 5/18/2000, Register 154; am 7/5/2000, Register 155; am 3/8/2002, Register 161; am 8/24/2002, Register 163; am 12/29/2002, Register 164; am 6/5/2003, Register 166; am 3/13/2004, Register 169; am 12/1/2004, Register 172; am 2/13/2005, Register 173; am 8/14/2005, Register 175; am 7/1/2006, Register 178; am 3/15/2008, Register 185; am 9/12/2008, Register 187; am 4/24/2009, Register 190; am 8/23/2009, Register 191; am 3/2/2011, Register 197; am 7/13/2012, Register 203; am 6/1/2013, Register 206; am 2/23/2014, Register 209, April 2014; am 3/22/2014, Register 209, April 2014; am 6/27/2014, Register 210; am 9/24/2014, Register 211, October 2014; am 3/15/2017, Register 221, April 2017; am 7/22/2017, Register 223, October 2017; am 8/10/2018, Register 227, October 2018; am 4/24/2020, Register 234, April 2020; am 6/21/2020, Register 234, July 2020; am 9/25/2022, Register 243, October 2022; am 4/28/2024, Register 250, July 2024Authority:AS 16.05.060
AS 16.05.251