5 AAC 34.031. Landing requirements

(a) Except as provided in (b) of this section, a king crab vessel must land all king crab in the registration area for which it is validly registered at the time of the landing.

(b) The owner, or the owner's agent, of a king crab vessel validly registered for a registration area that intends to land king crab in another registration area shall contact by radio or telephone a local representative of the department for authorization before leaving the registration area for which that vessel is registered and shall submit to an inspection at a location specified by the representative. The vessel owner, or the owner's agent, shall contact the representative located in the registration area for which that vessel is validly registered at the time of the contact. A vessel landing king crab under an authorization granted under this subsection may not, at the time of landing its catch, have more king crab on board than were present at the time of the inspection. If the local representative of the department does not require an inspection under this subsection, the vessel owner, or the owner's agent, making radio or telephone contact shall state to the representative the amount of king crab on board at the time of the contact. A vessel authorized to land king crab in another registration area without an inspection may not land 10 percent more or less king crab than the amount stated at the time of the contact with the representative.

(c) When a king crab vessel lands king crab in another registration area under an authorization granted under (b) of this section, the registration under which the vessel is operating becomes invalid. In order to again become validly registered for an area, the vessel must comply with 5 AAC 34.030 or the inspection requirements for a specific registration area otherwise specified in this chapter.

(d) The commissioner may suspend any or all of the requirements of (b) and (c) of this section for a specific registration area if the commissioner determines that to do so would be in the public interest.

(e) Unless otherwise specified in this chapter, after 24 hours following the closure of any registration area for specified species of king crab, a king crab vessel registered for that area may not have that species of king crab on board in waters subject to the jurisdiction of the state unless

(1) the vessel is otherwise in compliance with 5 AAC 34.020 and 5 AAC 34.030;

(2) except in Registration Areas O, T, and Q, the vessel owner, or the owner's agent, has contacted, in person or by radio or telephone, a local representative of the department at a landing port or inspection point specified in this chapter or by the department, and the representative has authorized the extended possession of king crab; contact with the representative must be made within the 24-hour period following the season closure for that species of king crab in the registration area;

(3) the vessel owner, or the owner's agent, who catches and processes king crab has complied with the pot storage requirements in 5 AAC 34.052(a) (1), the landing requirements specified in this subsection or for a specific registration area otherwise specified in this chapter, and has contacted a local representative of the department within the times specified in this subsection or for a specific registration area otherwise specified in this chapter, and the representative has authorized extended possession of king crab for purposes of processing or transportation;

(4) if the king crab are processed, no more than 90 days have passed since the closure of the registration area, and the vessel is carrying a department approved onboard observer for the entire period; during the 90-day period the department may waive the requirement of 5 AAC 34.030 prohibiting the presence of king crab onboard a vessel during tank inspection.

(f) The owner, or the owner's agent, of a king crab vessel that has sunk or upon which the death of a crew member has occurred that prevents timely removal or storage of gear at the time of closure, as specified in 5 AAC 34.052, may apply to the commissioner for a permit to sell legal size male king crab taken when the pots are retrieved by the owner, or the owner's agent, after the king crab season is closed in the registration area. The application must be made within 14 days after the sinking of the vessel or death of a crew member as described in this subsection. A fish ticket for any delivery made under this subsection must attribute the harvest of the king crab to the lost vessel or the vessel upon which the death of a crew member has occurred.

(g) A catcher-processor vessel carrying processed king crab out of state waters that had 100 percent onboard observer coverage during the fishing season, is not required to carry an onboard observer while transiting out of state waters if

(1) the vessel departs to the port where it will off-load its king crab within 21 days after departing the registration area;

(2) the vessel owner, or the owner's agent, gives a check out/check in report by notifying the department at least 24 hours in advance of the vessel's departure time and of its estimated time of arrival at the port where the vessel will off-load king crab;

(3) the vessel has a pre-transit inspection by the department before departing;

(4) the vessel proceeds immediately and directly to the port where it will off-load king crab;

(5) the vessel owner, or the owner's agent, notifies the department upon arrival at the port where the vessel will off-load king crab;

(6) the vessel owner, or the owner's agent, complies with any department request for copies of off-load shipping documents; and

(7) the vessel owner, or the owner's agent, cooperates with a department request for an independent third party verification of an off-loading under this section.

History: Eff. 9/1/96, Register 139; am 12/26/97, Register 144; am 7/21/99, Register 151; em am 10/22/2001 - 2/18/2002, Register 160; am 8/24/2002, Register 163; am 8/14/2005, Register 175; am 8/28/2005, Register 175

Authority: AS 16.05.251

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.