Current through Chapter 61 of the 2024 Legislative Session and 2024 Executive Orders 125, 133 through 135
Section 16.43.460 - Initial issuance of vessel permits(a) For each fishery in which the commission establishes a vessel permit system under AS 16.43.450, the commission shall establish qualifications for vessel interim-use permits and vessel entry permits. The qualifications may include a qualification date, eligibility period, recent and past participation requirements, minimum requirements for the nature and degree of ownership interest that a permit holder must have in a vessel in order to receive a vessel permit for the vessel, and criteria for receiving transferable and nontransferable vessel entry permits. In adopting qualifications for transferable and nontransferable vessel entry permits, the commission shall consider(1) information provided by the Department of Fish and Game, participants in the fishery, owners of vessels and gear used in the fishery, and other interested parties;(2) the level of recent and past participation and harvest in the fishery, the nature of the fishery, and the need to ensure the manageability of the fishery and conservation of the fishery resource.(b) If the commission establishes a vessel permit system under AS 16.43.450 for a fishery that was subject to a moratorium on entry of new vessels under former AS 16.43.901 or former 16.43.906, the commission shall incorporate some or all of the vessel eligibility criteria established for the moratorium into the eligibility criteria for vessel permits issued under the vessel permit system.(c) Pending the issuance of vessel entry permits for a fishery for which the commission has established a vessel permit system under AS 16.43.450, the commission shall issue a vessel interim-use permit to the owner of each vessel that the commission finds is potentially eligible to receive a vessel entry permit. A vessel interim-use permit is renewable from year to year; however, a vessel interim-use permit expires at the end of the period for which the permit was issued and may not be renewed after a final determination by the commission that the vessel is or is not eligible for a vessel entry permit.(d) The commission shall issue vessel entry permits for a fishery, subject to conditions established by the commission under AS 16.43.450 - 16.43.520, to the owner of each vessel that the commission finds is eligible to receive a vessel entry permit for that fishery.(e) The commission shall adopt regulations regarding (1) the determination of which person or entity is eligible to receive a vessel interim-use permit or a vessel entry permit for a vessel in the event of competing claims to ownership of the vessel;(2) the substitution of another vessel by the applicant for a vessel interim-use permit or a vessel entry permit if the vessel or vessels used to establish eligibility for a vessel entry permit are lost, or are retired from the fishery by the vessel owner, before the initial issuance of a vessel entry permit for the vessel.