20 AAC 05.692. General provisions relating to the Southeastern Alaska red and blue king crab, brown king crab and Tanner crab pot fisheries point systems

(a) Threshold Requirements for Past Participation and Consistent Participation Points. Past participation and consistent participation points for a given season and a particular crab fishery may be claimed in accordance with 20 AAC 05.693(a) and (b), 20 AAC 05.694(a) and (b), and 20 AAC 05.695(a) and (b), subject to the requirements that

(1) during a season for which the applicant claims points as skipper, the applicant must have commercially harvested at least 500 pounds of the particular crab species for which the permit is sought and had at least one day with landings during the season, evidenced by a fish ticket, for which the particular crab species harvested by the applicant as skipper represented at least 10 percent of the crab poundage delivered from the vessel on that day; and

(2) during a season for which the applicant claims points as a skipper, a rebuttable presumption exists that the applicant was a crewmember and not a skipper for that season if the applicant had only one day with landings during the season and the applicant's catch of the crab species represented less than 10 percent of the total of that species landed from the vessel during that season; and

(3) during a season for which the applicant claims points as a crewmember, the vessel on which the applicant participated met the delivery requirements stated in (1) of this subsection.

(b) Crewmember Participation Points. An applicant will not receive both skipper and crewmember participation points in the same fishery for the same season.

(1) Joint ownership of vessel. If an applicant shares in an investment in a vessel as of January 1, 1984, points awarded the applicant for investment in a vessel will be based on the applicant's relative percentage share of the total investment regardless of whether co-owners have applied for an entry permit. In such joint ownership situations, an individual applicant's percentage share of the total investment will be determined based on the evidence before the commission. Of the seven points available, the percentage awarded to the applicant will equal the applicant's relative percentage share of the total investment in the vessel.

(2) Joint ownership of gear. If an applicant shares in an investment in geared pots as of January 1, 1984, the commission will determine the number of the jointly owned pots which reflects the applicant's share of the total investment, regardless of whether co-owners have applied for an entry permit. The number of pots that constitutes the applicant's share in the jointly owned pots will be added to the number of pots solely owned by the applicant, for a determination of an applicant's entitlement to points for investment in gear.

(d) Joint Operators. If two or more individuals acted as joint operators on the same vessel during a season, the commission will allocate the joint operation's annual catch value and pounds landed from that vessel among the joint operators, regardless of whether all joint operators apply for an entry permit, for the purposes of equitably determining past participation, consistent participation, and relative income dependence points for each joint operator who is an applicant. The following will be used to make the allocations and determine points:

(1) the pounds landed and annual catch value allocated to each individual who is party to the joint operation will be based upon ADF&G catch records (fish tickets) recorded under each applicant's interim-use permit or gear license, unless it is demonstrated that those records do not accurately reflect the pounds landed and the annual catch value;

(2) if the commission finds that the actual distributions of a joint operation's pounds landed and annual catch value among the joint operators differed from that shown on ADF&G catch records (fish tickets), the commission will determine each joint operator's share of the operation's pounds landed and annual catch value based on the available evidence; the sum of the pounds landed allocated to each joint operator will not exceed the total pounds landed from the vessel, and the sum of the annual catch values allocated to each joint operator will not exceed the total annual catch value of the vessel;

(3) a skipper may challenge a commission finding that he or she engaged in a joint operation by requesting a hearing and, if a hearing is granted, presenting evidence as to the actual participation;

(4) after the pounds landed and annual catch value of the joint operation have been allocated among the joint operators in accordance with (1) - (3) of this subsection, past participation, consistent participation, and relative income dependence points will be determined for each joint operator who was a skipper as defined in 20 AAC 05.697(10) , as follows:

(A) threshold requirements for past participation and consistent participation for each individual skipper must be met in accordance with (a) of this section with respect to the catch of the vessel;

(B) past participation points as a skipper or a crewmember will be determined in accordance with 20 AAC 05.693(a) , 20 AAC 05.694(a) , and 20 AAC 05.695(a) ;

(C) consistent participation points will be determined in accordance with 20 AAC 05.693(b) , 20 AAC 05.694(b) , and 20 AAC 05.695(b) ;

(D) relative income dependence points will be determined in accordance with 20 AAC 05.693(c) (1), 20 AAC 05.694(c) (1), and 20 AAC 05.695(c) (1).

(e) Extraordinary Circumstances. If extraordinary circumstances prevented an applicant from participating in the fishery in a given season, the commission will, in its discretion, award the applicant those points the applicant could reasonably have claimed but for the extraordinary circumstance. Extraordinary circumstances include temporary illness or disability, the loss of vessel or equipment through sinking, destruction, or extensive mechanical breakdown, and other similar objectively verifiable causes of non-participation. Extraordinary circumstances do not include, for example, voluntary or involuntary retirement from the fishery, permanent illness, permanent disability, or loss of the financial means to continue participation in the fishery.

History: Eff. 1/30/87, Register 101; am 8/30/87, Register 103

Authority: AS 16.43.100

AS 16.43.110

AS 16.43.250 (a)

AS 16.43.260 (e)

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