5 AAC 01.730. Subsistence fishing permits

(a) Eulachon in the Unuk River, and salmon, trout, char, and herring spawn on kelp may only be taken under authority of a subsistence fishing permit.

(b) Permits will not be issued for the taking of coho salmon from the Taku River and Stikine River drainages, or for king salmon. However king or coho salmon taken incidentally by gear operated under terms of a subsistence permit for other salmon are legally taken and possessed for subsistence purposes as described in (j) of this section.

(c) In the Chilkat River, the subsistence fishing permit holder shall be physically present at the net while it is fishing.

(d) Repealed 7/18/2003.

(e) The department shall adhere to the following when issuing subsistence salmon fishing permits:

(1) fishing effort must be allowed in places and during times when resource abundance will allow a harvest without jeopardizing the sustained yield of the stock and in a manner which provides for an orderly fishery;

(2) any gear must be allowed which is efficient and economical in light of local circumstances and which provides for an orderly harvest without waste of the resource;

(3) possession limits may be established if resources are limited relative to anticipated harvest levels;

(4) the department may not set any possession limit which jeopardizes the sustained yield of a stock;

(5) a permit is valid for the entire season in which it is issued;

(6) the department may require the permit holder to report daily harvests on the catch calendar which accompanies the permit.

(f) When a permit is denied under the guidelines in (e) of this section, the commissioner or his designee shall determine if the requested use is a subsistence use by applying the Joint Boards of Fisheries and Game criteria for the identification of subsistence uses. The commissioner or his designee shall issue the permit if he determines that the request is for a subsistence use and the sustained yield of the stock will not be jeopardized.

(g) When issuing a herring spawn on kelp subsistence fishing permit, the department may specify on the permit the times and locations for harvesting and the species of kelp that may be taken. The annual possession limit for herring spawn on kelp is 32 pounds for an individual or 158 pounds for a household of two or more persons. The department will, in its discretion, issue an additional permit for herring spawn on kelp above the annual possession limit if harvestable surpluses of herring spawn on kelp are available.

(h) Repealed 5/15/93.

(i) The department shall not issue a permit for the taking of steelhead trout, but steelhead trout taken incidentally by gear operated under the terms of a subsistence permit for salmon are legally taken and possessed for subsistence purposes. The holder of a subsistence salmon permit must report any steelhead trout taken in this manner on his or her permit calendar.

(j) Salmon, trout, or char taken incidentally by gear operated under the terms of a subsistence permit for salmon are legally taken and possessed for subsistence purposes. The holder of a subsistence salmon permit must report any salmon, trout, or char taken in this manner on his or her permit calendar.

(k) In addition to the reporting requirement under (e) of this section, the department will, to the extent practicable, use a harvest monitoring program with surveys and interviews to record the harvest of herring spawn on branches, kelp, and seaweed taken in the waters of Section 13-A and Section 13-B north of the latitude of Aspid Cape.

History: In effect before 1982; am 4/14/82, Register 82; am 12/29/84, Register 92; am 6/25/89, Register 110; am/readopt 5/15/93, Register 126; am 4/14/2002, Register 162; am 7/18/2003, Register 167

Authority: AS 16.05.251

AS 16.05.258

Editor's note: At its February 23 - 27, 1993 meeting, the Board of Fisheries readopted 5 AAC 01.730(a) - (c), (e) - (g), (i), and (j) in their entirety without change, under ch. 1, SSSLA 1992 (the 1992 subsistence law), which repealed and reenacted AS 16.05.258 .

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