(a) Salmon may be
taken only by set and drift gillnet, dip net, beach seine, a hook and line
attached to a rod or pole, handline, or fish wheel, subject to the restrictions
set out in this section,
5
AAC 01.210, and
5
AAC 01.225 -
5
AAC 01.249.
(b) In District 4, salmon may be taken by
drift gillnets that are not more than 25 fathoms in length, unless closed by
emergency order.
(c) In Districts 5
and 6, salmon may not be taken for subsistence purposes by drift
gillnets.
(d) Unless otherwise
specified in this section, fish other than salmon and halibut may be taken only
by gillnet, dip net, beach seine, a hook and line attached to a rod or pole,
handline, fish wheel, fyke net, jigging gear, spear, longline, lead, or eel
stick.
(e) The following apply to
subsistence fishing:
(1) a gillnet may not
exceed seven and one-half inch mesh size;
(2) the aggregate length of set gillnets in
use by an individual may not exceed 150 fathoms;
(3) each drift gillnet in use by an
individual may not exceed 50 fathoms in length;
(4) in Subdistrict 5-C, between the Waldron
Creek ADF&G regulatory marker and Hess Creek, a single set gillnet in use
may not exceed 25 fathoms in length;
(5) subsistence set gillnets and fishwheels
may not be operated within 200 feet of another gillnet or fishwheel except as
follows:
(A) at the site approximately one
mile upstream from Ruby on the south bank of the Yukon River between ADF&G
regulatory markers containing the area known locally as the "Slide" subsistence
fishing gear may be set within 200 feet of other operating commercial or
subsistence fishing gear;
(B) in
District 4, from Old Paradise Village upstream to a point four miles upstream
from Anvik, there is no minimum distance requirement between fish
wheels;
(C) a person may operate a
beach seine, longline, fyke net, dip net, jigging gear, spear, a hook and line
attached to a rod or pole, handline, lead, or eel stick within 200 feet of
another person operating subsistence fishing gear;
(6) subsistence fishermen may operate one or
more subsistence fishing gears at the same time;
(7) a person may not subsistence fish while
commercial or personal use fishing at the same time;
(8) a gillnet may not obstruct more than
one-half the width of any fish stream and any channel or side channel of a fish
stream; a stationary fishing device may not obstruct more than one-half the
width of any salmon stream and any channel or side channel of a salmon stream,
except that in Racetrack Slough off of the Koyukuk River and in the sloughs of
the Huslia River drainage, from when each river is free of ice through June 15,
the offshore end of a set gillnet may not be closer than 20 feet from the
opposite bank, unless closed by emergency order;
(9) in that portion of Beaver Creek, not
included in the nonsubsistence area specified in
5
AAC 99.015(a)(4), gillnet mesh size
may not exceed four inches;
(10) in
Birch Creek, gillnet mesh size may not exceed four inches;
(11) in the South Fork of the Koyukuk River
drainage upstream from the mouth of the Jim River, and in the Middle Fork of
the Koyukuk River drainage upstream from the mouth of the North Fork, gillnet
gear may be used only from August 20 through June 30 and a gillnet mesh size
may not exceed three and one-half inches; a subsistence permit is required as
specified in
5
AAC 01.230(b)(9);
(12) during the subsistence fishing closures
specified in
5
AAC 01.210(b), all salmon gillnets
with a mesh size greater than four inches must be removed from the water and
fish wheels may not be operated;
(13) a beach seine may not be constructed of
monofilament web and may not exceed
(A) 150
fathoms in length;
(B) 100 meshes
in depth;
(C) a mesh size of four
inches stretched measure;
(14) coinciding with the migratory timing of
the fall chum salmon run, a person may not take fish with a gillnet that has a
mesh size greater than six inches through October 30, unless altered by
emergency order;
(15) in the
Coastal District and Districts 1 and 2, unless a person is fishing under the
ice, the float line and floats of gillnets must be floating on the surface of
the water while the net is fishing unless natural conditions cause the net to
temporarily sink;
(16) in Districts
3-6, unless a person is fishing under the ice, gillnets in operation sunk below
the surface must have a keg, buoy, or cluster of floats visible on the surface
of the water at each end of the submerged net, and for submerged gillnets over
60 feet in length, a third keg, buoy, or cluster of floats must be attached to
the middle of the net.
(f) Northern pike may not be taken with
gillnets in the waters of the Tolovana River drainage from October 15 through
April 14.
(g) Halibut may be taken
only by a single hand-held line with no more than three hooks
attached.
(h) A person may use a
hook and line attached to a rod or pole when subsistence fishing only
(1) in the waters between the latitude of
Point Romanof and the latitude of the westernmost point of the Naskonat
Peninsula,
(A) including those waters
draining into the Bering Sea and those of the Yukon River drainage;
(B) excluding the areas described in
5
AAC 01.225, the Koyukuk River subsistence permit area
described in
5
AAC 01.230(b)(9), the Tanana River
drainage, Birch Creek upstream of the Steese Highway Bridge, and the Dall River
drainage; or
(2) through
the ice.
(i) In District
4, from September 21 through May 15, jigging gear may be used from shore
ice.
(j) Notwithstanding any other
provisions of this section, during times when the commissioner determines it is
necessary for the conservation of a salmon species, the commissioner may, by
emergency order, close the fishing season on any portion of the Yukon Area and
immediately reopen the season in that area during which one or more of the
following gear limitations may be implemented:
(1) all salmon must be immediately released
to the water alive unless retention is allowed by emergency order;
(2) a gillnet used to take fish
(A) must be of either four-inch or less mesh,
four and three-quarter inch or less mesh, six-inch or less mesh, or seven and
one-half inch mesh;
(B) may not,
for a gillnet as specified in (A) of this paragraph, exceed the length
specified by the commissioner in the emergency order, and the gillnet may be
specified for operation as a set or drift gillnet; if specified, no part of a
set gillnet may be more than 100 feet from the ordinary high water
mark;
(3) for fish
wheels:
(A) the operator must closely attend
the fish wheel while it is in operation; and
(B) all salmon must be immediately released
to the water alive and must bypass any livebox unless retention is allowed by
emergency order;
(4) dip
nets may be used; however, all salmon caught with a dip net must be released to
the water alive unless retention is allowed by emergency order;
(5) a beach seine may be used; however, all
salmon caught with a beach seine must be released to the water alive unless
retention is allowed by emergency order.
(k) For the purposes of this section, a
"livebox" is a submerged container that is attached to a fish wheel and that
will keep fish caught by the fish wheel alive.