5 AAC 56.070. Kenai River and Kasilof River Early-run King Salmon Conservation Management Plan

(a) The purpose of this management plan is to ensure an adequate escapement of early-run king salmon into the Kenai and Kasilof Rivers, to conserve the unique large size early-run king salmon in the Kenai River, and to provide the department with management guidelines.

(b) The department shall manage the Kenai River early-run king salmon sport and guided sport fisheries to achieve the optimal escapement goal, to provide reasonable harvest opportunities over the entire run, and to ensure the age and size composition of the harvest closely approximates the age and size composition of the run.

(c) The department shall manage the Kasilof River early-run king salmon sport and guided sport fisheries to achieve the sustainable escapement goal, to provide reasonable harvest opportunities over the entire run while ensuring adequate escapement of naturally produced king salmon, and to minimize the effects of conservation actions for the Kenai River on the Kasilof River.

(d) In the Kenai River,

(1) the seasons, bag, possession, and size limits, and other special provisions for king salmon are set out in out in 5 AAC 56.023(a) and in (4) of this subsection;

(2) if the spawning escapement is projected to be less than the lower end of the optimal escapement goal, the commissioner shall, by emergency order, restrict as necessary the taking of king salmon in the sport and guided sport fisheries in the Kenai River to achieve the optimal escapement goal using one of the following methods:

(A) prohibit the retention of king salmon less than 55 inches in length, except king salmon less than 20 inches in length, downstream from the outlet of Skilak Lake through June 30, and require that upstream from the Soldotna Bridge to the outlet of Skilak Lake and in the Moose River from its confluence with the Kenai River upstream to the northernmost edge of the Sterling Highway Bridge, from July 1 through July 14, only one unbaited, single-hook, artificial lure may be used and

(i) only king salmon less than 44 inches in length and 55 inches or greater in length may be retained; or

(ii) only king salmon less than 20 inches in length and 55 inches or greater in length may be retained; or

(B) close the sport and guided sport fisheries to the taking of king salmon in the Kenai River

(i) downstream from the outlet of Skilak Lake through June 30; and

(ii) from July 1 through July 14, upstream from the Soldotna Bridge to the outlet of Skilak Lake and in the Moose River from its confluence with the Kenai River upstream to the northernmost edge of the Sterling Highway Bridge;

(3) if the spawning escapement is projected to exceed the upper end of the optimal escapement goal, the commissioner shall, by emergency order, liberalize the sport fishery downstream from the outlet of Skilak Lake, by allowing the use of bait to achieve the optimal escapement goal; only king salmon less than 44 inches in length or 55 inches or greater in length may be retained;

(4) a person may not possess, transport, or export from this state, a king salmon 55 inches or greater in length taken from the Kenai River from January 1 through July 31, unless the fish has been sealed by an authorized representative of the department within three days after the taking; the person taking the fish must sign the sealing certificate at the time of sealing; the seal must remain on the fish until the preservation or taxidermy process has commenced; a person may not falsify any information required on the sealing certificate; in this paragraph,

(A) "sealing" means the placement of an official marker or locking tag (seal) by an authorized representative of the department on a fish and may include

(i) collecting and recording biological information concerning the conditions under which the fish was taken;

(ii) measuring the specimen submitted for sealing; and

(iii) retaining specific portions of the fish for biological information, including scales, fin rays, and vertebrae;

(B) "sealing certificate" means a form used by the department for recording information when sealing a fish.

(e) In the Kasilof River, the seasons, bag, possession, and size limits, and other special provisions for king salmon are set out in 5 AAC 56.022(a) and (b)(7).

History: Eff. 6/10/89, Register 110; em am 4/30/91 - 5/30/91, Register 118 [not printed]; am 7/21/91, Register 119; am 4/18/97, Register 142; am 6/13/99, Register 150; am 5/18/2000, Register 154; am 6/22/2002, Register 162; am 8/9/2002, Register 163; am 5/18/2003, Register 166; em am 6/16/2004 - 10/14/2004, Register 171; am 6/11/2005, Register 174

Authority: AS 16.05.060

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.