Title 5 . Fish and Game

Chapter 27 . Transportation, Possession and Release of Live Fish; Aquatic Farming

Section 334. Harvest specifications and operations for the herring spawn-on-kelp pound fishery in Prince William Sound Area

5 AAC 27.334. Harvest specifications and operations for the herring spawn-on-kelp pound fishery in Prince William Sound Area

A permit issued by the commissioner is not required for the harvest of spawn on kelp in pounds. However, a CFEC permit holder may not participate in the spawn-on-kelp fishery in any year unless the permit holder has registered with the department's Cordova office by March 15 of that year. The permit holder may register by notifying the department's Cordova office in writing by mail that is postmarked by March 15, or in person, or by telephone, by 5:00 p.m. March 15. The following provisions apply to the herring spawn-on-kelp pound fishery:

(1) after fishing commences in a pound, no more than four persons may use that pound at any time, except that if the department determines that the maximum number of kelp blades that a person may maintain in a pound, established under (5) of this section, will not be enough substrate for adequate spawn deposition to produce a commercially valuable spawn-on-kelp product, based on kelp blade density and the volume of the pound, the department may allow more than four persons to use a pound at any time; if the department allows more than four persons to use a pound under this paragraph, the department will provide public notice of the number of persons allowed;

(2) if more than one person uses a pound, from the time fishing commences in the pound until all herring spawn on kelp has been removed from the pound, the pound may not contain more than the amount of herring or kelp that all persons using the pound may, in the aggregate, legally maintain in it; each person using the pound has a duty to ensure that the pound does not, at any time, contain more than the legal amount of herring or kelp;

(3) for a closed pound, fishing commences when herring are introduced into the pound; once herring are introduced into a closed pound, all herring must remain in the pound until the department has authorized the release of the herring;

(4) for an open pound, fishing commences when kelp is placed into the water within the pound; before operating an open pound, a person must notify the department of that person's intent to operate an open pound for the fishing season; once a person has notified the department of that person's intent to operate an open pound under this paragraph, that person may not use a closed pound during the remainder of that season;

(5) before each fishing season the department, consistent with 5 AAC 27.365(d) (2), shall establish the maximum amount of herring that a person may take and maintain in a pound, and the maximum number of blades of kelp that a person may maintain in a pound after fishing commences; the department shall provide public notice of that amount and number; a person who notifies the department before April 1 of that person's intent to operate an open pound shall receive an increase in the maximum amount of kelp blades established in this paragraph that is calculated on the basis of the wild spawn-on-kelp conversion factor described in 5 AAC 27.365(d) (1);

(6) a person may use a closed herring pound only north and east of a line from Porcupine Point to Point Freemantle, unless otherwise provided by emergency order; a person may use an open herring pound throughout the Prince William Sound Area in areas established by emergency order;

(7) notwithstanding 5 AAC 37.100 and 5 AAC 37.200, a person may take kelp for the herring spawn-on-kelp pound fishery anywhere in the Prince William Sound Area unless otherwise provided by emergency order;

(8) for the herring spawn-on-kelp pound fishery, a person may take kelp by hand and may take the entire plant including the stipe (stem) and holdfast;

(9) before a person places kelp in a pound, the person must plainly and legibly mark the person's name and five-digit CFEC permit number in characters that are at least two inches high and one-half inch wide in a color that contrasts with the pound background and that are mounted on the exterior of the pound and are plainly visible and not obscured in any way;

(10) after fishing commences and until the season closes, the CFEC permit number or numbers marked on a pound may not change;

(11) before the commencement of fishing, a person shall plainly and legibly mark all of that person's lines of kelp blades with the person's name and shall indicate on each line of kelp blades the number of blades attached to that line;

(12) at the time fishing commences, during the capture and transfer of herring into the pound, and during the harvest of herring spawn on kelp produced in the pound, a person using a closed pound must be present at the pound, at a support shelter near the pound, or on a fishing vessel while the vessel is being used to harvest herring or transfer herring to the pound;

(13) a person using an open pound must be present at the pound, or near the pound at a structure or on a vessel used in support of the operation, when kelp is placed in the water and during the harvest of herring spawn on kelp produced in the pound;

(14) a person using a closed pound shall notify the department before dropping the webbing; after the webbing has been dropped, the pound may only be used as an open pound during the remainder of that season;

(15) a person may not place herring in a pound after the fifth day following the day on which the person first placed herring in the pound;

(16) a person may not hold herring in a pound after the seventh day following the day on which the person first placed herring into the pound;

(17) herring that die during capture, transfer, or holding will be counted toward the legal amount of herring that may be taken by the person who captured, transferred, or held the herring;

(18) a person using a pound shall weigh the spawn on kelp when the person removes spawn on kelp from the pound;

(19) if more than one person uses a pound, a person removing spawn on kelp from the pound shall

(A) from the time spawn on kelp is removed until it is processed, segregate that spawn on kelp from spawn on kelp that is possessed by other persons using the pound;

(B) weigh the quantity of spawn on kelp that is possessed by that person and provide the weight to a buyer for recording on a fish ticket;

(20) a person may not transfer herring between pounds;

(21) after release of herring from a pound, a person using the pound shall keep the pound, including webbing, at the fishing location not less than four weeks, shall keep egg-covered webbing on the pound frame in the original configuration with adequate water circulation on all sides to optimize egg hatching, and, not later than six weeks after harvesting the spawn on kelp, shall completely remove the pound from the water.

History: Eff. 9/17/94, Register 131; am 4/6/97, Register 142; am 5/31/98, Register 146; am 3/30/2000, Register 153; am 4/24/2003, Register 166

Authority: AS 16.05.060

AS 16.05.251

Editor's note: For the purposes of 5 AAC 27.334, the department's Cordova office mailing address is Department of Fish and Game, P. 0. Box 669, Cordova, Alaska 99574-0669, its telephone number is (907) 424-3212, and its physical address is 401 Railroad Avenue, Cordova, Alaska.