Title 5 . Fish and Game

Chapter 99 . Subsistence Uses

Section 10. Boards of fisheries and game subsistence procedures

5 AAC 99.010. Boards of fisheries and game subsistence procedures

(a) In applying a subsistence law, the Board of Fisheries and the Board of Game will provide for conservation and development of Alaska's fish and game resources according to sustained yield principles.

(b) Each board will identify fish stocks or game populations, or portions of stocks or populations, that are customarily and traditionally taken or used by Alaska residents for subsistence uses by considering the following criteria:

(1) a long-term consistent pattern of noncommercial taking, use, and reliance on the fish stock or game population that has been established over a reasonable period of time of not less than one generation, excluding interruption by circumstances beyond the user's control, such as unavailability of the fish or game caused by migratory patterns;

(2) a pattern of taking or use recurring in specific seasons of each year;

(3) a pattern of taking or use consisting of methods and means of harvest that are characterized by efficiency and economy of effort and cost;

(4) the area in which the noncommercial, long-term, and consistent pattern of taking, use, and reliance upon the fish stock or game population has been established;

(5) a means of handling, preparing, preserving, and storing fish or game that has been traditionally used by past generations, but not excluding recent technological advances where appropriate;

(6) a pattern of taking or use that includes the handing down of knowledge of fishing or hunting skills, values, and lore from generation to generation;

(7) a pattern of taking, use, and reliance where the harvest effort or products of that harvest are distributed or shared, including customary trade, barter, and gift-giving; and

(8) a pattern that includes taking, use, and reliance for subsistence purposes upon a wide diversity of fish and game resources and that provides substantial economic, cultural, social, and nutritional elements of the subsistence way of life.

(c) When circumstances such as increased numbers of users, weather, predation, or loss of habitat may jeopardize the sustained yield of a fish stock or game population, each board will exercise all practical options for restricting nonsubsistence harvest of the stock or population and may address other limiting factors before subsistence uses are restricted below the level the board has determined to provide a reasonable opportunity. If all available restrictions for nonsubsistence harvests have been implemented and further restrictions are needed, the board will eliminate nonsubsistence consumptive uses, and reduce the take for subsistence uses in a series of graduated steps under AS 16.05.258 (b)(4)(B) - the "Tier II" distinction - by distinguishing among subsistence users through limitations based on

(1) the customary and direct dependence on the fish stock or game population by the subsistence user for human consumption as a mainstay of livelihood;

(2) the proximity of the user's domicile to the stock or population; and

(3) the ability of the subsistence user to obtain food if subsistence use of the stock or population is restricted or eliminated.

History: Eff. 5/30/82, Register 82; am 1/17/91, Register 117; am 5/15/93, Register 126

Authority: AS 16.05.251

AS 16.05.255

AS 16.05.258