Title 5 . Fish and Game

Chapter 38 . Transportation, Possession and Release of Live Fish; Aquatic Farming

Section 76. Alaska Scallop Fishery Management Plan

5 AAC 38.076. Alaska Scallop Fishery Management Plan

(a) The requirements of the management plan contained in this section apply to vessels commercially fishing for scallops.

(b) The following scallop registration areas are established:

(1) Scallop Registration Area A (Southeastern Alaska) is Registration Area A, described in 5 AAC 38.100, except for all waters of District 16 as described in 5 AAC 31.105(p) ;

(2) Scallop Registration Area D (Yakutat) is Registration Area D, described in 5 AAC 38.160, and all waters of District 16 as described in 5 AAC 31.105(p) ;

(3) Scallop Registration Area E (Prince William Sound) is Registration Area E, described in 5 AAC 38.200;

(4) Scallop Registration Area H (Cook Inlet) is Registration Area H, described in 5 AAC 38.300;

(5) Scallop Registration Area K (Kodiak) is Registration Area K, described in 5 AAC 34.400;

(6) Scallop Registration Area M (Alaska Peninsula) is Registration Area M, described in 5 AAC 34.500;

(7) Scallop Registration Area O (Dutch Harbor) has as its northern boundary the latitude of Cape Sarichef (54ΓΈ 36' N. lat.), as its eastern boundary the longitude of Scotch Cap Light, and as its western boundary 171ΓΈ W. long., excluding the waters of Scallop Registration Area Q;

(8) Scallop Registration Area Q (Bristol Bay-Bering Sea) is the combination of the Bristol Bay and Bering Sea Registration Areas, described in 5 AAC 34.800 and 5 AAC 34.900;

(9) Scallop Registration Area R (Adak) has as its eastern boundary 171ΓΈ W. long., as its western boundary the Maritime Boundary Agreement Line as that line is described in the text of and depicted in the annex to the Maritime Boundary Agreement between the United States and Union of Soviet Socialist Republics signed in Washington, June 1, 1990, and as that Maritime Boundary Agreement Line is depicted on NOAA Chart #513 (6th Edition, February 23, 1991) and NOAA Chart #514 (6th Edition, February 16, 1991), adopted by reference, and as its northern boundary 55ΓΈ 30' N. lat.

(c) A person may use a vessel to take scallops only in a scallop registration area and the waters of the exclusive economic zone adjacent to the scallop registration area and only if the owner or the owner's authorized agent has registered the vessel with the department for that scallop registration area. In this subsection, "exclusive economic zone" means all of the waters adjacent to a scallop registration area and seaward to a boundary that is a line drawn in such a manner that each point on it is 200 nautical miles from the baseline from which the territorial sea is measured.

(d) A vessel may be registered to take scallops in only one scallop registration area at a time.

(e) In addition to the other requirements of this section, a person who takes scallops other than weathervane scallops, and a person who takes weathervane scallops when a permit is required under this chapter, must obtain a permit issued by the department which might include:

(1) location and duration of harvests;

(2) gear limitations and other harvest procedures;

(3) periodic reporting, including logbook requirements;

(4) requirements for onboard observers; and

(5) catch or bycatch limits.

(f) Unless otherwise provided by permit issued under (e) of this section, scallops may be taken only as follows:

(1) a vessel fishing for weathervane scallops may use and carry only scallop dredges with rings having an inside diameter of four inches or larger;

(2) a vessel fishing for scallops other than weathervane scallops may use or carry only scallop dredges with rings having an inside diameter of three inches or larger;

(3) a person may not use chafing gear or other devices that decrease the legal inside ring diameter of a scallop dredge, except that rubber chafing gear may be used on the bottom of the ring bag that contacts the substrate but may not be placed forward of the first continuous row of rings behind the sweep chain; for the purposes of this paragraph "continuous row of rings" means a row of rings that is parallel to the cutting bar and extends the full width of the ring bag;

(4) no more than two scallop dredges may be operated at one time from a vessel, and the opening of a scallop dredge may not be more than 15 feet wide; the opening of a dredge is measured in a straight line, parallel to the cutting bar, at the widest point, as determined by the distance between the attachment points for the sweepchain (center of the pad eye).

(g) The department may require a vessel fishing in a scallop fishery with a guideline harvest range established by regulation to carry an onboard observer as specified in 5 AAC 39.141 - 5 AAC 39.144, 5 AAC 39.146, and 5 AAC 39.645 - 5 AAC 39.646, unless the department determines that carrying an observer in that fishery will not serve the purposes of the onboard observer program. The department shall require a vessel fishing in a scallop fishery without a guideline harvest range established by regulation to carry an onboard observer as specified in 5 AAC 39.141 - 5 AAC 39.144, 5 AAC 39.146, and 5 AAC 39.645 - 5 AAC 39.646.

(h) Fishing seasons, open and closed areas, and guideline harvest ranges for taking weathervane scallops are set out in 5 AAC 38.120, 5 AAC 38.167, 5 AAC 38.168, 5 AAC 38.180, 5 AAC 38.220, 5 AAC 38.221, 5 AAC 38.224, 5 AAC 38.320, 5 AAC 38.324, 5 AAC 38.420, 5 AAC 38.425, and 5 AAC 38.430.

(i) Weathervane scallops may be shucked by hand only. A mechanical shucking machine may not be on board a vessel that is fishing for weathervane scallops.

(j) A vessel that is fishing for weathervane scallops may have on board no more than 12 persons who are crew members of the vessel. For the purpose of this subsection, "crew member" means a person who is involved with the operations of the vessel, and includes a captain, mate, engineer, cook, deckhand and processing worker, but does not include an onboard observer.

(k) The commissioner may establish bycatch limits for crab in the scallop fishery.

History: Eff. 6/27/93, Register 126; am 7/23/93, Register 127; am 7/23/94, Register 131; am 9/12/97, Register 143; am 12/26/97, Register 144; am 5/8/98, Register 146; am 7/31/2003, Register 167; am 8/8/2003, Register 167

Authority: AS 16.05.251

Editor's note: Copies of the NOAA charts adopted by reference in 5 AAC 38.076(b) can be obtained by writing or calling the NOAA office at NOAA, NOS, Pacific Hydrographic Branch, 7600 Sand Point Way N.E., Seattle, Washington 98115-0070, Phone: (206) 526-6836 for a list of retail stores where charts are available for purchase. In addition, the charts are available for inspection at the Lieutenant Governor's Office, Juneau, Alaska.