Title 5 . Fish and Game

Chapter 29 . Transportation, Possession and Release of Live Fish; Aquatic Farming

Section 120. Gear specifications and operations

5 AAC 29.120. Gear specifications and operations

(a) Salmon may be taken by hand troll gear and power troll gear only in the Southeastern Alaska-Yakutat Area.

(b) The maximum number of trolling lines that may be operated from a salmon troll vessel is as follows:

(1) from a power troll vessel:

(A) no more than six lines may be operated in the exclusive economic zone north of the latitude of the southernmost tip of Cape Spencer; and

(B) except as provided in (A) of this paragraph, no more than four lines;

(2) from a hand troll vessel:

(A) from each hand troll gurdy: only one line to which multiple leaders and hooks may be attached;

(B) from each fishing rod: only one line with no more than one leader and one lure or two baited hooks per leader;

(C) an aggregate of four fishing rods or an aggregate of two hand troll gurdies may be operated.

(c) A salmon troll vessel may have a fishing rod equipped exclusively for taking bait or a gillnet for taking bait of a mesh size of no more than two and one-half inches and made of no greater than number 20 gillnet thread.

(d) No more than six troll gurdies may be mounted on board any salmon power troll vessel.

(e) No more than two troll gurdies and four fishing rods may be on board any salmon hand troll vessel. A downrigger may not be used in conjunction with a fishing rod.

(f) A person may not use a salmon power troll vessel to take salmon with hand troll gear once that vessel has been registered and marked as specified in 5 AAC 29.115 and 5 AAC 39.119, unless that registration has been changed under 5 AAC 29.115(b) and the vessel is marked as specified in 5 AAC 29.125.

(g) For purposes of this section,

(1) a troll gurdy is a spool-type device that is designed to deploy and retrieve troll lines, weights, and lures; the term "troll gurdy"

(A) includes a downrigger; and

(B) does not include a reel attached to a fishing rod;

(2) a hand troll gurdy is a troll gurdy powered by hand or hand crank that is not mounted on or used in conjunction with a fishing rod and is not considered power troll gear;

(3) a fishing rod is a tapering, often jointed, rod equipped with a hand grip and line guides, upon which is mounted a handpowered reel used to deploy and retrieve the trolling line;

(4) a downrigger is a device designed to be used with a fishing rod to deploy a troll line to a selected depth and retrieve the downrigger line and weight.

(h) A salmon troll vessel, or a person on board a salmon troll vessel, may not participate in the taking of salmon during an open salmon troll fishing period if

(1) commercial hand troll, power troll, or mechanical jig fishing gear on the salmon troll vessel was used to take fish during the 72 hour period immediately before the open salmon troll fishing period; or

(2) that will take fish during the 24 hour period immediately after, an open salmon trolling fishing period.

(i) Notwithstanding 5 AAC 39.240, a CFEC permit holder or interim-use permit holder may use a registered salmon fishing vessel, when it has fishing gear on board, to tow another registered salmon troll vessel with fishing gear on board if the permit holder for the vessel being towed is on board one of the vessels.

History: Eff. 10/1/98, Register 147; am 6/14/2000, Register 154

Authority: AS 16.05.251

Editor's note: Before Register 147, Oct. 1998, the substance of 5 AAC 29.120 was contained in former 5 AAC 30.330, 5 AAC 33.330, and 5 AAC 39.270(a) , (b), (e), (f), (h) and (i). The history note for 5 AAC 29.120 does not reflect the history of the provision before Register 147, Oct. 1998.