Made available by
Touch N' Go Systems, Inc., and the
Law Offices of James B. Gottstein.
You can also go to The Alaska Legal Resource Center or search the entire website search.
|
(a) The department shall manage the commercial salmon fishery in the Chignik Area in accordance with the guidelines set out in the management plan under this section. The goal of this management plan is to allow traditional fisheries in the area to be conducted on Chignik Area salmon stocks, and to achieve the department's biological escapement goals for both Black Lake (early-run) and Chignik Lake (late-run) sockeye salmon and local stocks of pink, chum, coho, and king salmon.
(b) In the Chignik Bay and Central Districts, the commercial salmon fishery shall open concurrently based on escapement objectives for the Chignik Lakes' system sockeye salmon runs, except that
(1) the commissioner shall open, by emergency order, the commercial salmon fishery when 20,000 sockeye salmon have escaped into the Chignik River; however if the department determines that a strong buildup of sockeye salmon exists in Chignik Lagoon and that 20,000 sockeye salmon will escape into the Chignik River, the commissioner may open, by emergency order, the commercial salmon fishery before 20,000 sockeye salmon have escaped into the Chignik River;
(2) during the period of transition from the predominance of the early-run sockeye salmon to that of the late-run sockeye salmon, (usually late June through mid-July), the commissioner shall open and close, by emergency order, the fishing periods to harvest surplus early-run sockeye salmon without jeopardizing the late-run sockeye salmon escapement objectives;
(3) from the end of the transition period, described in (2) of this subsection until September 14, the commissioner shall open and close, by emergency order, fishing periods in the Chignik Bay and Central Districts based on the Chignik Lakes' system sockeye salmon escapement goals; the commissioner may take additional emergency order actions to protect or harvest local pink, chum, king, and coho salmon runs; and
(4) beginning September 15, fishing periods in the Chignik Bay and Central Districts may be no more than 48-hours per week, and shall be based on the department's evaluation of the sockeye salmon run strength and the subsistence needs for Chignik Lake late-season sockeye salmon.
(c) In the Eastern District,
(1) during June, the commercial salmon fishery shall open concurrently with the Chignik Bay and Central Districts, and the openings shall be based on achieving the Black Lake sockeye salmon escapement goals;
(2) from approximately June 26 through July 8,
(A) the department shall evaluate the strength of the sockeye salmon late run; and
(B) in order to continue managing the Black Lake sockeye salmon harvest and escapement, while assessing the Chignik Lake sockeye salmon run strength, commercial salmon fishing in the Eastern District will, in the department's discretion, be disallowed or severely restricted;
(3) from the end of the transition period, described in (b)(2) of this section, until the end of the fishing season, the department shall manage the commercial salmon fishery based on its evaluation of local pink, chum, and coho salmon runs, and the escapement objectives of the Chignik Lakes' system sockeye salmon.
(d) In the Western and Perryville Districts, the department may open the commercial salmon fishery beginning July 6, except that
(1) from approximately late June to mid-July (transition period),
(A) the department shall evaluate the strength of the sockeye salmon late run; and
(B) in order to allow the department to assess the Chignik Lake run strength, commercial salmon fishing in the Western and Perryville Districts will, in the department's discretion, be disallowed or severely restricted;
(2) from the end of the transition period, described in (b)(2) of this section, until approximately August 20, fishing periods shall be based on the department's evaluation of local pink and chum salmon runs, and its evaluation of the Chignik Lake sockeye salmon run; from July 22 through July 31,
(A) no more than 60,000 coho salmon may be taken in the Western and Perryville Districts, except in those areas designated as terminal harvest areas under (B) of this paragraph;
(B) the commissioner may, by emergency order, open fishing in the following terminal harvest areas:
(i) those portions of the Western and Perryville Districts north of a line from Cape Ikti at 56ΓΈ 00.32' N. lat., 158ΓΈ 32.02' W. long., to Coal Cape at 55ΓΈ 53.42' N. lat., 159ΓΈ 00.45' W. long. to Cape Alexander at 55ΓΈ 47.22' N. lat., 159ΓΈ 24.57' W. long., and
(ii) those portions of the Chignik Bay and Central Districts know locally as Jack's Box, which consists of those waters east of 158ΓΈ 15.36' W. long., south of 56ΓΈ 20' N. lat., and west of 158ΓΈ 10' W. long;
(3) from approximately August 20 until the end of the fishing season, fishing periods shall be based on the department's evaluation of local coho salmon runs, and its evaluation of the Chignik Lake sockeye salmon run.
History: Eff. 5/29/99, Register 150; am 5/4/2002, Register 162; am 3/6/2003, Register 165; am 3/13/2005, Register 173; am 4/9/2005, Register 174
Authority: AS 16.05.060
Note to HTML Version:
The Alaska Administrative Code was automatically converted to HTML from a plain text format. Every effort has been made to ensure its accuracy, but neither Touch N' Go Systems nor the Law Offices of James B. Gottstein can be held responsible for any possible errors. This version of the Alaska Administrative Code is current through June, 2006.
If it is critical that the precise terms of the Alaska Administrative Code be known, it is recommended that more formal sources be consulted. Recent editions of the Alaska Administrative Journal may be obtained from the Alaska Lieutenant Governor's Office on the world wide web. If any errors are found, please e-mail Touch N' Go systems at E-mail. We hope you find this information useful. Copyright 2006. Touch N' Go Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Last modified 7/05/2006