5 AAC 55.022. General provisions for seasons, bag, possession, and size limits, and methods and means for the Prince William Sound Area

(a) Unless otherwise specified in 5 AAC 55.023, or by an emergency order issued under AS 16.05.060 , the following are the seasons, bag, possession, and size limits, and methods and means that apply to sport fishing for finfish in the Prince William Sound Area:

(1) in all fresh waters of the Prince William Sound Area, only unbaited, artificial lures may be used from April 15 - June 14;

(2) king salmon: may be taken from January 1 - December 31, as follows:

(A) in fresh waters, as follows:

(i) king salmon 20 inches or greater in length; bag limit of two fish; possession limit of four fish;

(ii) king salmon less than 20 inches in length; bag and possession limit of 10 fish;

(B) in the salt waters; bag limit of two fish; possession limit of four fish; no size limit;

(2) salmon, other than king salmon: may be taken from January 1 - December 31; bag limit of six fish; possession limit of 12 fish, of which only three fish per day and in possession may be coho salmon; no size limit;

(3) rainbow/steelhead/cutthroat trout, as follows:

(A) repealed 3/30/2006;

(B) in stocked lakes: may be taken from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of 10 fish; no size limit; for the purposes of this subparagraph, "stocked lakes" includes Ruth Lake and Blueberry Lake;

(C) in all other waters not specified in this paragraph, except the Copper River Delta Special Management Area specified in 5 AAC 55.033: may be taken from June 15 - April 14; bag and possession limit of two fish, of which only one per day and in possession may be 20 inches or greater in length; annual limit of two fish 20 inches or greater in length; harvest is to be recorded on the back of the sport fishing license; for anglers not required to have a sport fishing license, a harvest record may be obtained without charge from department offices and fishing license vendors in the Prince William Sound Area;

(4) Dolly Varden/Arctic char: may be taken from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of 10 fish; no size limit;

(5) Arctic grayling: may be taken from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of 10 fish; no size limit;

(6) halibut: may be taken only from February 1 - December 31; bag limit of two fish; possession limit of four fish; no size limit;

(7) lingcod: may be taken only from July 1 - December 31; bag limit of two fish; possession limit of four fish; must be 35 inches or greater in length including the head, or 28 inches or greater in length with the head removed;

(8) rockfish:

(A) may be taken from May 1 - September 15; bag limit of five fish; possession limit of 10 fish, of which only two per day and in possession may be non-pelagic rockfish; the first two non-pelagic rockfish caught must be retained and become part of the bag limit of the person originally hooking the fish; no size limit;

(B) may be taken from September 16 - April 30; bag and possession limit of 10 fish, of which only two per day and in possession may be non-pelagic rockfish; the first two non-pelagic rockfish caught must be retained and become part of the bag limit of the person originally hooking the fish; no size limit;

(9) shark, including all species of the order Lamniformes, Squalformes, or Carcharhinformes: may be taken from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of one fish; annual limit of two fish with a harvest record required as specified in 5 AAC 75.012;

(10) other finfish not specified in this subsection: may be taken from January 1 - December 31; no bag, possession, or size limits.

(b) Unless otherwise specified in 5 AAC 55.023, or by an emergency order issued under AS 16.05.060 , the following are the seasons, bag, possession, and size limits, and methods and means that apply to sport fishing for shellfish in the Prince William Sound Area:

(1) the bag and possession limits for sport-harvested shellfish are not in addition to those allowed under subsistence fishing regulations under 5 AAC 02 or under personal use fishing regulations under 5 AAC 77;

(2) king crab: no open season; may not be taken or possessed;

(3) Tanner crab: no open season; may not be taken or possessed;

(4) Dungeness crab: no open season; may not be taken or possessed;

(5) shrimp: may be taken from April 15 - September 15; no bag, possession, or size limits; a harvest recording form is required as specified in 5 AAC 75.016; no more than five pots per person, with no more than five pots per vessel may be used to take shrimp; all shrimp pots must have at least two adjacent vertical sides, or near-vertical sides, excluding tunnels, completely composed of uncovered net webbing or rigid mesh; pots that do not have a definable side, including round pots, must have net webbing or rigid mesh panels covering a minimum of 50 percent of the vertical, or near-vertical, surface area of the pot; the net webbing or rigid mesh on all pots must be large enough to allow the unaided passage of a maximum 12-inch long, seven-eighths inch diameter, round wooden peg without deforming the opening, except for the selvage;

(6) razor clams: may be taken from January 1 - December 31, in the waters of Prince William Sound east of 146УИ W. long. and south of a line from the southernmost tip of Point Bentinck to the southernmost tip of Point Whitshed; no bag or possession limits; only razor clams four and one-half inches or greater in shell length may be retained; a harvest recording form is required as specified in 5 AAC 75.016;

(7) shellfish not specified in this subsection: may be taken January 1 - December 31; no bag, possession, or size limits.

History: Eff. 5/4/94, Register 130; am 9/5/97, Register 143; am 3/16/2000, Register 153; am 7/5/2000, Register 155; am 9/30/2000, Register 155; am 5/11/2003, Register 166; am 3/13/2004, Register 169; am 12/1/2004, Register 172; am 3/30/2006, Register 177

Authority: AS 16.05.060

AS 16.05.251

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