Current through August 30, 2024
(a) The objective
of this management plan is to provide the department with guidelines to manage
for the sustained yield of Yukon River summer chum salmon. The department shall
use the best available data, including preseason run projections, test fishing
indices, age and sex composition, subsistence and commercial harvest reports,
and passage estimates from escapement monitoring projects to assess the run
size for the purpose of implementing this plan. Management of the summer chum
salmon fisheries may be affected during times of king salmon
conservation.
(b) When the
projected run size of summer chum salmon is 500,000 fish or less,
(1) the commissioner shall close, by
emergency order, the commercial, sport, and personal use directed summer chum
salmon fisheries;
(2) the
department may restrict or close the subsistence summer chum salmon fishery,
except that, if indicators show an individual escapement goal in a district,
subdistrict, or portion of a district or subdistrict will be met, the
commissioner may open, by emergency order, a directed subsistence summer chum
fishery in that district, subdistrict, or portion of a district or
subdistrict.
(c) When
the projected run size of summer chum salmon is more than 500,000 fish, but not
more than 650,000 fish,
(1) the commissioner
shall close, by emergency order, the commercial, sport, and personal use
directed summer chum salmon fisheries;
(2) the department may restrict the
subsistence summer chum salmon fishery, except that, if indicators show that
individual escapement goals within a district, subdistrict, or portion of a
district or subdistrict will be met, the commissioner may open, by emergency
order, a less restrictive directed subsistence summer chum fishery in that
district, subdistrict, or portion of a district or subdistrict;
(3) if indicators show that individual
escapement goals and subsistence needs within a district, subdistrict, or
portion of a district or ubdistrict .will be met, the commissioner may open, by
emergency order, a summer chum sahnon fishery for commercial, sport, or
personal use fishing in that district, subdistrict, or portion of a district or
subdistrict.
(e) When the projected
run size of chum salmon is more than 650,000 fish, but not more than 750,000
fish, the commissioner may open, by emergency order, a drainagewide commercial
fishery to harvest up to 50,000 fish above the run size of 650,000 chum salmon
distributed by district or subdistrict in proportion to the guideline harvest
levels established in (g) of this section.
(f) When the projected run size of summer
chum salmon is more than 750,000 fish, the commissioner may open, by emergency
order, a drainagewide commercial fishery managed to achieve escapements within
the established drainagewide escapement goal range of 500,000 - 1,200,000
summer chum salmon. The targeted harvest of the surplus will be distributed by
district or subdistrict in proportion to the guideline harvest levels
established in (g) of this section.
(g) The department shall manage the
commercial summer chum salmon fishery for a guideline harvest level of 400,000
- 1,200,000 summer chum salmon to be distributed as follows:
(1) Districts 1 and 2: 251,000 - 755,000
fish;
(2) District 3: 6,000 -
19,000 fish;
(3) Subdistrict 4-A:
113,000 - 338,000 fish, the equivalent roe poundage of 61,000 - 183,000 pounds,
or a combination of pounds of roe and numbers of fish;
(4) Subdistricts 4-B and 4-C: 16,000 - 47,000
fish;
(5) Subdistricts 5-B, 5-C,
and 5-D: 1,000 - 3,000 fish;
(6)
District 6: 13,000 - 38,000 fish.
(h) When the projected summer chum salmon
harvest level for Districts 1 - 6 combined is 400,000 fish or less, the
department shall distribute the commercial harvest available by percentage to
each district or subdistrict as follows:
(1)
Districts 1 and 2: 62.9 percent;
(2) District 3: 1.6 percent;
(3) Subdistrict 4-A: 28.2 percent;
(4) Subdistrict 4-B and 4-C: 3.9
percent;
(5) District 5: 0.3
percent;
(6) District 6: 3.2
percent.
(i) All salmon
caught by CFEC permit holders during a commercial fishing period when salmon
roe is sold, shall be reported in numbers of fish on ADF&G fish tickets.
Notwithstanding
5
AAC 05.368, no more than 183,000 pounds of summer chum
salmon roe from Subdistrict 4-A may be sold separately each year. If this roe
cap is reached, fishing may continue, but all salmon must be sold in the
round.
(j) In Subdistrict 4-A and
District 6, during times when the commissioner determines that it is necessary
for the conservation of king salmon, the commissioner may, by emergency order,
close the commercial set gillnet fishing season and immediately reopen the
fishing season during which
(1) a fish wheel
may be used; a fish wheel operated under this subsection must be constructed in
a manner that includes
(A) basket sides and
bottoms consisting of soft mesh material similar to or made of seine web;
and
(B) an adjustable or fixed
slide or chute that
(i) consists of a smooth
bottom and closed cell foam lined sides; and
(ii) returns king salmon immediately to the
water;
(2)
the permit holder shall be present at and attend the fish wheel at all times
while the fish wheel is in operation; and
(3) all king salmon caught in the fish wheel
must be returned immediately to the water alive.
(k) In Districts 1 - 3, during times when the
commissioner determines that it is necessary for the conservation of king
salmon, the commissioner may, by emergency order, close the commercial gillnet
fishing season and immediately reopen a fishing season during which
(1) a permit holder may fish with
(A) up to four dip nets; notwithstanding
5
AAC 39.105(d)(24), for the purposes
of this subparagraph, a dip net is a bag-shaped net supported on all sides by a
rigid frame in which no portion of the bag is constructed of webbing that
exceeds a stretched measurement of four and one-half inches and the frame is
attached to a single rigid handle and operated by hand: the depth of the bag
must be at least one-half of the greatest straight-line distance, as measured
through the net opening; for a dip net with
(i) a circular net frame, the maximum
straight-line distance between any two points on the net frame, as measured
through the net opening, may not exceed five feet:
(ii) a net frame that is not a circular net
frame, the width-height dimensions may not exceed six feet by three
feet;
(B) beach seine
gear; a beach seine may not be constructed of monofilament web and may not
exceed
(i) 150 fathoms in length;
(ii) 100 meshes in depth;
(iii) a mesh size of four inches stretched
measure; and
(2) all king salmon caught in dip net and
beach seine gear must be released immediately and returned to the water
unharmed.
Authority:AS
16.05.060
AS 16.05.251
AS
16.05.258
