5 AAC 77.682. Personal use salmon fishery

(a) Salmon may only be taken under the authority of a personal use fishing permit.

(b) The department shall adhere to the following when issuing personal use salmon fishing permits:

(1) the fishing effort must be allowed in places and during times when resource abundance will allow a harvest without jeopardizing the sustained yield of the stock and in a manner which provides for an orderly fishery;

(2) any gear must be allowed which is efficient and economical in light of local circumstances and which provides for an orderly harvest without waste of the resource;

(3) possession limits may be established if resources are limited relative to anticipated harvest levels;

(4) the department may not set any possession limit which jeopardizes the sustained yield of a stock;

(5) a permit is valid for the entire season in which it is issued;

(6) the department may require the permit holder to report daily harvests on the catch calendar which accompanies the permit.

(c) The department will not issue a permit for the taking of king or coho salmon, but king and coho salmon taken incidentally by gear operated under the terms of a personal use permit for other salmon are legally taken and possessed for personal use purposes. The holder of a personal use salmon permit shall report any king or coho salmon taken in this manner on that permit holder's permit calendar. The possession limit for king salmon is two fish and the possession limit for coho salmon is six fish.

(d) Salmon, trout, or char taken incidentally by gear operated under the terms of a personal use permit for salmon are legally taken and possessed for personal use purposes. The holder of a personal use permit shall report any salmon, trout, or char taken in this manner on his or her permit calendar.

(e) No person may possess personal use-taken and sport-taken salmon on the same day.

(f) In the Taku River drainage, the total annual limit for each personal use sockeye salmon permit is five sockeye salmon for a household of one person and 10 sockeye salmon for a household of two or more persons.

(g) Salmon may be taken by gear listed in 5 AAC 01.010(a) except as may be restricted on a personal use fishing permit and except as follows:

(1) in District 13, Redoubt Bay, gillnet or seine gear may not be used to take salmon in any waters of the bay closed to commercial salmon fishing;

(2) set gillnets may not be used to take salmon except

(A) in the mainstream and side channels, but not the tributaries, of the Chilkat River from the terminus to one mile upstream of Wells Bridge;

(B) in the Taku River drainage from the Taku River Lodge upstream to the United States/Canada border, salmon may be taken by set gillnets only;

(D) set gillnets may be used in Yes Bay north of a line from Bluff Point to Syble Point, except within 500 yards of the terminus of Wolverine Creek; the personal use permit holder shall be physically present at the gillnet while it is in operation;

(3) in the Chilkat and Taku rivers and in Shipley Bay and Yes Bay, the personal use permit holder shall be physically present at the net while it is in operation;

(4) a gillnet may not exceed 50 fathoms in length, except in the Taku River a set gillnet may not exceed 15 fathoms in length;

(5) salmon may not be taken by the use of a line attached to a pole or rod.

(h) Salmon may be taken at any time except

(1) as may be restricted under the terms of a personal use fishing permit;

(2) from July 7 through July 31, sockeye salmon may be taken in the waters of Klawock Inlet enclosed by a line from Klawock Light to the Klawock Oil Dock, the Klawock River, and Klawock Lake only from 8:00 a.m. Monday until 5:00 p.m. Friday;

(3) in the Taku River drainage, sockeye salmon may be taken only in waters from the Taku River Lodge upstream to the United States/Canada border and only from July 1 through July 31.

(i) The following waters are closed to the personal use taking of salmon:

(1) in District 13, Sitkoh Bay and the Sitkoh River drainage are closed to the taking of sockeye salmon;

(2) in District 15, Lynn Canal including Chilkat, Chilkoot and Lutak inlets, during the closed periods of the commercial salmon net fishery in the district.

(j) Salmon taken for personal use or under personal use regulations may not be subsequently used as bait for commercial fishing purposes.

History: Eff. 6/25/89, Register 110; am 5/29/93, Register 126; am 4/1/94, Register 129; am 12/1/2004, Register 172

Authority: AS 16.05.251

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