Current through August 30, 2024
The objective of this management plan is to ensure adequate
escapement of fall chum salmon into the Yukon River drainage and to provide
management guidelines to the department. The department shall implement this
plan from July 16 through December 31 each year, as follows:
(1) the department shall use the best
available data, including preseason projections, mainstem river sonar passage
estimates, test fisheries indices, subsistence and commercial fishing reports,
and fish passage estimates from escapement monitoring projects to assess the
run size of chum salmon;
(2) when
the projected run size is 300,000 chum salmon or less, the commissioner shall
close, by emergency order, the
(A)
commercial, sport, and personal use directed chum salmon fisheries;
and
(B) subsistence directed chum
salmon fisheries, except that if indicators suggest that an individual
escapement goal in a subdistrict, district, or a portion of a subdistrict or
district will be achieved, the commissioner may, by emergency order, open a
subsistence directed chum salmon fishery in that subdistrict, district or
portion of that subdistrict or district;
(3) when the projected run size is more than
300,000, but not more than 500,000 chum salmon, the
(A) targeted drainagewide minimum escapement
goal is 300,000 chum salmon;
(B)
commissioner shall, by emergency order, close the commercial, sport, and
personal use directed chum salmon fisheries, except that if indicators suggest
that an individual escapement goal and identified subsistence needs in a
subdistrict, district, or portion of a subdistrict or district will be
achieved, the commissioner may, by emergency order, open a sport or personal
use fishery in that subdistrict, district, or portion of that subdistrict or
district; and
(C) department shall
manage the subsistence chum salmon directed fisheries to achieve the targeted
drainagewide escapement goal;
(5) when the projected run size is more than
550,000 chum salmon, the commissioner may, by emergency order, open and close,
commercial fisheries drainagewide and manage the fisheries to achieve
escapements within the established drainagewide escapement goal range of
300,000 - 600,000 chum salmon; the targeted harvest of the surplus will be
distributed by district or subdistrict proportional to the guideline harvest
range established in
5
AAC 05.365; the department shall distribute the
harvest levels below the low end of the guideline harvest range by district or
subdistrict proportional to the midpoint of the guideline harvest
range;
(6) for management of the
Toklat River salmon stocks, the Kantishna River and Subdistricts 5-A and 6-A
fisheries will be managed to achieve the established spawning escapement goals
and the following provisions will apply:
(A)
in the Toklat River drainage, the area between approximately one mile upstream
and two miles downstream of the Kobi-McGrath trail crossing, enclosed by the
following four points: 64° 08,21' N. lat.. 150° 01.16' long., to
64° 08.21' N. lat., 149° 58,38' W. long.. to 64° 10.66' N. lat..
150° 02.09' W long,, to 64° 10.66' N. lat. 149° 59.72' W. long., is
closed to subsistence fishing from August 15 through May 15;
(B) in the Kantishna River, the following
subsistence permit requirements will apply:
(i) from August 15 through December 31, the
subsistence salmon harvest limit in the Kantishna River is 2,000 chum
salmon;
(ii) from August 15 through
December 31, the annual harvest limit for the holder of a Kantishna River
subsistence salmon fishing permit is 450 chum salmon; until the fishery harvest
limit of 2,000 chum salmon is reached, permits for additional salmon may be
issued by the department;
(iii)
based on an evaluation of in season run strength indicators, the commissioner
may, by emergency order, reopen the Kantishna River fall season chum salmon
subsistence fishery and allow the fishery to exceed the 2,000 fall chum salmon
harvest limit if indications are that the Toklat River fall chum salmon minimum
escapement goals will be achieved; the commissioner will close that fishery
when the commissioner determines that it is necessary for the conservation and
protection of chum salmon.
Authority:AS
16.05.060
AS 16.05.251
AS
16.05.258
