5 AAC 39.120. Registration of commercial fishing vessels

(a) A person who owns a commercial fishing vessel or that person's authorized agent shall register that vessel by completing a vessel license application or renewal form and submitting it to the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission, unless the vessel is not required to be licensed under AS 16.05.495 . Vessel registration is required before fishing or transporting unprocessed fish in any waters of Alaska. A vessel, if it is in compliance with all regulations governing registration and if it displays a license issued under AS 16.05.530 , unless the vessel is not required to be licensed under AS 16.05.495 , is considered to be registered under the laws of the state and may take or transport unprocessed fish. It is unlawful to take, attempt to take, or possess unprocessed fish aboard a vessel in the waters of Alaska unless the vessel is registered under the laws of the state. For purposes of this subsection,

(1) "employ," as used in AS 16.05.475 , means taking or attempting to take fish, or transporting fish which have been taken or any operation of a vessel aiding or assisting in the taking or transporting of unprocessed fish;

(2) "in compliance with all regulations governing registration" includes vessel registration required by 5 AAC 28.020, 5 AAC 31.020, 5 AAC 31.030, 5 AAC 32.020, 5 AAC 32.030, 5 AAC 34.020, 5 AAC 34.030, 5 AAC 35.020, 5 AAC 35.030, 5 AAC 38.020, and 5 AAC 38.030, and includes district or subdistrict registration requirements of 5 AAC 03 - 5 AAC 38, and includes the provisions of this section;

(3) "registered under the laws of the state" means that a vessel displays a license described in 20 AAC 05.1958 and issued under AS 16.05.530 , unless the vessel is not required to be licensed under AS 16.05.495 , and that the registration provisions of 5 AAC 03 - 5 AAC 39 have been complied with and evidence of compliance is immediately available at all times during fishing or transporting operations, and can be shown upon request to an authorized representative of the department.

(b) Area registration requirements for shellfish vessels are as specified in the registration regulations in 5 AAC 31 - 5 AAC 38.

(1) a person who owns a fishing vessel to be used to take salmon with net gear, or his authorized agent, shall register for an area by designating on the vessel license application or renewal form the vessel's one area of intended salmon net gear operation for the year; it is unlawful for a vessel to engage in salmon net fishing in an area other than the single area selected;

(2) in this section the term "area" means any registration area listed in (d) of this section, except that

(A) in salmon net Registration Area T, a vessel must also be registered by the department for a fishing district as required by 5 AAC 06.370;

(B) in salmon net Registration Area Y, a vessel must also be registered by the department for a fishing district as required by 5 AAC 05.370;

(C) a purse seine vessel registered for salmon net Registration Area M is also registered to operate purse seine gear in Registration Area F during the same registration year;

(3) a vessel registered for an area of salmon net fishing in compliance with (c)(1) of this section will be issued, by the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission, a vessel license area tab for that year; it is unlawful for a vessel to fish in the area of registration unless the vessel displays the area tab on the vessel license number plate; no vessel owner or operator may possess for each vessel, or no vessel may display, more than one vessel license area tab;

(4) a person who owns a fishing vessel registered for an area of intended operation in compliance with (c)(1) of this section or his authorized agent may register it for a different salmon net registration area under the following conditions:

(A) the reregistration of a salmon net fishing vessel shall be authorized by the

(i) commissioner upon receipt of proof in writing that the vessel has been lost through sinking, destruction, or extensive mechanical breakdown, or that the vessel operator has suffered serious injury, sickness or death during the open season; or

(ii) Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission upon receipt of a written certification or personal affidavit stating that the vessel has not been used for salmon net fishing in the original area of registration;

(B) a person authorized to reregister a vessel must complete a reregistration form issued by the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission and submit it to the commissioner together with any previously issued vessel license area tab;

(C) it is unlawful for a vessel to fish in the area of reregistration unless the vessel displays the appropriate area tab on the vessel license number plate;

(D) area reregistration under this section shall supersede the original area registration as if the original area registration had never been made;

(E) once a vessel has reregistered for another net registration area to replace a lost vessel, that vessel can not transfer back to its original net registration area during that season;

(5) repealed 4/16/83.

(d) Salmon net gear registration areas are as follows:

Code Letter Area A - Southeastern Alaska Area (5 AAC 33.100) D - Yakutat Area (5 AAC 30.100) E - Prince William Sound Area (5 AAC 24.100) and the Yakataga District of the Yakutat Area (5 AAC 30.200(a) ) F - Atka-Amlia Islands Area (5 AAC 11.100) H - Cook Inlet Area (5 AAC 21.101) K - Kodiak Area (5 AAC 18.100) L - Chignik Area (5 AAC 15.100) M - Aleutian Islands and Alaska Peninsula Areas ( 5 AAC 12.100 and 5 AAC 09.100) and, from August 1 through August 31, the Atka-Amlia Islands Area (5 AAC 11.101) for purse seine gear only T - Bristol Bay Area (5 AAC 06.100) and January 1 through June 30, the Cinder River and Inner Port Heiden Sections of the Alaska Peninsula Area and August 1 - December 31, the Cinder River and Inner Port Heiden Sections and that portion of the Ilnik Section within Ilnik Lagoon and all waters inside the Seal Islands of the Alaska Peninsula Area (5 AAC 09.200(a)(1) - (a)(3)) W - Kuskokwim Area (5 AAC 07.100) X - Kotzebue Area (5 AAC 03.100) Y - Yukon-Northern Area (5 AAC 05.100) Z - Norton Sound-Port Clarence Area (5 AAC 04.100)

(e) Evidence of proper registration or licensing must be kept immediately available at all times during fishing operations and must be shown upon request to any peace officer of the state.

(f) The provisions of this section do not apply to halibut fishing.

(g) Repealed 10/1/98.

History: In effect before 1982; am 4/14/82, Register 82; am 4/16/83, Register 86; am 4/28/84, Register 90; am 5/31/85, Register 94; am 6/25/89, Register 110; am 5/13/92, Register 122; am 5/28/92, Register 122; am 7/16/92, Register 123; am 5/17/95, Register 134; am 6/2/95, Register 134; am 6/2/96, Register 138; am 6/28/97, Register 142; am 5/8/98, Register 146; am 5/31/98, Register 146; am 10/1/98, Register 147

Authority: AS 16.05.251

AS 16.05.475

Editor's note: As of Register 147, Oct. 1998, the substance of former 5 AAC 39.120(g) appears in 5 AAC 29.115.

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