Current through August 30, 2024
(a) Salmon may be
taken only by gillnet, beach seine, a hook and line attached to a rod or pole,
handline, dip net as defined in
5
AAC 07.365(c)(11)(A), or fish wheel
subject to the restrictions set out in this section and
5
AAC 01.275, except that salmon may also be taken by
spear in the Holitna River drainage, Kanektok River drainage, Arolik River
drainage, and the drainage of Goodnews Bay.
(b) The aggregate length of set gillnets or
drift gillnets in use by any individual for taking salmon may not exceed 50
fathoms.
(c) Fish other than salmon
may be taken only by set gillnet, drift gillnet, beach seine, fish wheel, pot,
longline, fyke net, dip net, jigging gear, spear, a hook and line attached to a
rod or pole, handline, or lead.
(d)
Each subsistence set gillnet operated in tributaries of the Kuskokwim River
must be attached to the bank, fished substantially perpendicular to the bank
and in a substantially straight line.
(e) In that portion of the Kuskokwim River
drainage from the north end of Eek Island upstream to the mouth of the
Kolmakoff River, no part of a set gillnet located within a tributary to the
Kuskokwim River may be set or operated within 75 feet of any part of another
set gillnet.
(f) 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.
(h) The maximum
depth of gillnets is as follows:
(1) gillnets
with six-inch or smaller mesh may not be more than 45 meshes in
depth;
(2) gillnets with greater
than six-inch mesh may not be more than 35 meshes in depth.
(i) Halibut may be taken only by a
single hand-held line with no more than three hooks attached to it.
(j) Subsistence set and drift gillnets
operated in Whitefish Lake in the Ophir Creek drainage may not exceed 15
fathoms in length.
(k) A person may
not operate more than one subsistence set or drift gillnet at a time in
Whitefish Lake in the Ophir Creek drainage. A person operating a subsistence
set or drift gillnet shall check the net at least once every 24
hours.
(m) Notwithstanding (b)
and (j) of this section, during times when the commissioner determines it to be
necessary for the conservation of salmon, other than king salmon, the
commissioner, by emergency order, may close the fishing season in any portion
of the Kuskokwim Area and immediately reopen the season in that portion during
which the following gear limitations apply:
(1) a gillnet used to take fish
(A) must be of seven and one-half inch or
greater mesh, six-inch or less mesh, or four-inch or less mesh;
(B) for a gillnet of four-inch or less mesh,
may not exceed the length specified by the commissioner in the emergency order
and the gillnet may only be operated as a set gillnet; no part of a set gillnet
may be more than 100 feet from the ordinary high water mark;
(C) for a gillnet of seven and one-half inch
or greater mesh, may not exceed the length specified by the commissioner in the
emergency order and the gillnet may only be operated as a set gillnet; no part
of a set gillnet may be more than 100 feet from the ordinary high water
mark;
(D) for a gillnet of six-inch
or less mesh, may not exceed the length specified by the commissioner in the
emergency order and the gillnet may only be operated as a set gillnet; no part
of a set gillnet may be more than 100 feet from the ordinary high water
mark;
(E) for a gillnet of
four-inch or less, six-inch or less, or seven and one-half inches or greater,
may not exceed the length specified by the commissioner in the emergency
order;
(2) for fish
wheels:
(A) except as provided in (B) of this
paragraph, a fish wheel used to take fish must be equipped with a livebox that
is constructed so that it contains no less than 45 cubic feet of water volume
while it is in operation; the livebox of a fish wheel must be checked at least
once every six hours while the fish wheel is in operation and all salmon, other
than king salmon, that are in the livebox must be released to the water alive
as specified by the commissioner in the emergency order;
(B) a person may operate a fish wheel without
a livebox only if
(i) the fish wheel is
equipped with a chute that returns fish captured by the fish wheel to the water
alive;
(ii) the person closely
attends the fish wheel while it is in operation; and
(iii) the person returns all salmon specified
by the commissioner caught to the water alive;
(3) for beach seine gear: any salmon
specified by the commissioner in the emergency order taken in beach seine gear
must be returned alive to the watery;
(4) for dip nets: a person may fish for
salmon with a dip net, and all salmon specified by the commissioner caught in a
dip net must be released immediately and returned alive to the water.
(n) Notwithstanding (b) and U) of
this section, during times when the commissioner determines that it is
necessary for the conservation of king salmon, the commissioner, by emergency
order, may close the fishing season in any portion of the Kuskokwirn Area and
immediately reopen the season in that portion during which one or more of the
following gear limitations may be implemented:
(1) for gillnets:
(A) a gillnet mesh size may not exceed six
inches;
(B) a gillnet mesh size
may not exceed four inches and the gillnet may only be operated as a set gill
net; no part of a set gillnet may be more than 100 feet from the ordinary high
water mark;
(C) gillnet mesh size
may not exceed six inches and the gillnet may only be operated as a set
gillnet; no part of a set gillnet may be more than 100 feet from the ordinary
high water mark;
(D) a gillnet may
not exceed the length specified by the commissioner in the emergency order,
except that a longer gillnet may be used if no more than the specified length
of the gillnet is in a fishing condition and the remainder of the gillnet is
tied up or secured so that it is not in the water in a fishing
condition;
(2) for fish
wheels:
(A) except as provided in (B) of this
paragraph, a fish wheel used to take fish must be equipped with a livebox that
is constructed so that it contains no less than 45 cubic feet of water volume
while it is in operation; the livebox of a fish wheel must be checked at least
once every six hours while the fish wheel is in operation, and all king salmon
in the livebox must be returned alive to the water;
(B) a person may operate a fish wheel without
a livebox only if
(i) the fish wheel is
equipped with a chute that returns fish captured by the fish wheel to the water
alive;
(ii) the person closely
attends the fish wheel while it is in operation; and
(iii) the person returns all king salmon
caught to the water alive;
(3) for beach seine gear: any king salmon
taken in beach seine gear must be released immediately and returned alive to
the water;
(4) for dip nets: a
person may fish for salmon with a dip net and all king salmon caught in a dip
net must be released immediately and returned alive to the water.
(o) 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.
(p) A beach seine may not exceed
(1) 50 fathoms in length;
(2) 100 meshes in depth;
(3) a mesh size of three and one-half inches
stretched measure.
(q)
In District 4 between June 1 and July 15, only one gillnet may be operated per
vessel.
Authority:AS
16.05.060
AS 16.05.251
AS
16.05.258