Current through August 30, 2024
(a) This management plan governs the harvest
of Kasilof River salmon excess to spawning escapement needs. It is the intent
of the Board of Fisheries that Kasilof River salmon be harvested in the
fisheries that have historically harvested them, including the methods, means,
times, and locations of those fisheries. Openings in the areas historically
fished must be consistent with escapement objectives for upper Cook Inlet
salmon and with the Upper Cook Inlet Salmon Management Plan (5 AAC
21.363).
(b) Achieving the lower end of the Kenai
River sockeye salmon escapement goal shall take priority over not exceeding the
upper end of the Kasilof River optimal escapement goal range of 140.000 -
370.000 sockeye salmon.
(c) The
commercial set gillnet fishery in the Kasilof Section shall be managed as
follows:
(1) fishing will be opened as
described in
5
AAC 21.310(b) (2) for regular weekly
fishing periods, as specified in
5
AAC 21.320;
(2) from the beginning of the fishing season
through July 7,
(A) the commissioner may, by
emergency order, open additional fishing periods or extend regular weekly
fishing periods to a maximum of 48 hours of additional fishing time per
week;
(B) the fishery shall remain
closed for at least one continuous 36-hour period per week to begin between
7:00 p.m. Thursday and 7:00 a.m. Friday;
(3) beginning July 8, the set gillnet fishery
in the Kasilof Section will be managed as specified in
5
AAC 21.360(c); in addition to the
provisions of
5
AAC 21.360(c), the commissioner may,
by emergency order, limit fishing during the regular weekly periods and any
extra fishing periods to those waters within one-half mile of shore, if the set
gillnet fishery in the Kenai and East Forelands Sections are not open for the
fishing period; if the commissioner determines that further restrictions are
necessary to aid in achieving the lower end of the Kenai River late run sockeye
and king salmon escapement goals, the commissioner may, in an emergency order
under this paragraph, further restrict fishing to within 600 feet of the high
tide mark in the Kasilof Section and is not subject to the time limitations in
5
AAC 21.359(e)(3) and
5
AAC 21.360;
(4) after July 8, if the Kasilof Section set
gillnet fishery is restricted to fishing within the first one-half mile of
shore, the commissioner may, by emergency order, open the KRSHA described in
(f) of this section to both set and drift gillnet fishing using only one
gillnet, for fishing periods not to exceed 48 hours in duration without one
period of 24 consecutive hours of closure;
(5) after July 15, if the department
determines that the Kenai River late-run sockeye salmon run strength is
projected to be less than 2,300,000 fish and the 390,000 optimal escapement
goal for the Kasilof River sockeye salmon may be exceeded, the commissioner
may, by emergency order, open fishing for an additional 24 hours per week in
the Kasilof Section within one-half mile of shore and as specified in
5
AAC 21.360(c).
(d) The personal use fishery will be managed
as specified in
5
AAC 77.540(b) and (c).
(f) The commissioner may, by emergency order,
open the Kasilof River Special Harvest Area (KRSHA) to the taking of salmon by
gillnets when it is projected that the Kasilof River sockeye salmon escapement
will exceed 365,000 fish. It is the intent of the Board of Fisheries (board)
that the KRSHA should rarely, if ever, be opened under this subsection and only
for conservation reasons. Before the commissioner opens the KRSHA, it is the
board's intent that additional fishing time be allowed in the remainder of the
Kasilof Section first, and secondly that the mandatory closures specified in
regulation be reduced in duration, if necessary to meet the escapement goals
contained within this and other management plans. The Kasilof River Special
Harvest Area is defined as those offshore waters bounded by a line from 60°
22.59' N. lat., 151° 20.79' W. long., to 60° 23.83' N. lat., 151°
21.70' W. long., to 60° 24.13' N. lat., 151° 21.34' W. long., to
60° 24.13' N. lat., 151°17.72' W. long., excluding waters of the
Kasilof River upstream of ADF&G regulatory markers located near the
terminus of the river and waters open to set gillnetting under
5
AAC 21.330(b)(3)(C)(ii) and (iii).
The following apply within the special harvest area when it is open:
(1) the boundary between waters open to set
gillnet gear and waters open to drift gillnet gear is a line from 60° 22.
77' N. lat., 151° 20.93' W. long., to 60° 23.23' N. lat., 151 19.31' W.
long., to 60° 23.56' N. lat., 151° 18.17' W. long., to 60° 24.13'
N. lat., 151° 18.12' W. long.
(2) a set gillnet may not exceed 35 fathoms
in length;
(3) Repealed
6/8/2017;
(4) no more than 50
fathoms of drift gillnet may be used to take salmon;
(5) a permit holder may not use more than one
set gillnet per permit to take salmon at any time;
(6) a person may not operate a gillnet
outside the special harvest area when operating a gillnet in the special
harvest area;
(7) there is no
minimum distance between gear, except that a gillnet may not be set or operated
within 600 feet of a set gillnet located outside of the special harvest area;
and
(8) Repealed
6/8/2017;
(9) Except for nets which
may not be in the water after the closure, set gillnet gear, including running
lines, shore leads, anchors, and buoys must be removed from the water and the
beach prior to the opening of the KRSHA and no more than 4 hours after any
closure of the KRSHA, and may not be placed back in the water or on the beach
prior to the next opening of the KRSHA.
(g) The commissioner may depart from the
provisions of the management plan under this section as provided in
5
AAC 21.363(e).
(h) For the purposes of this section, "week"
means a calendar week, a period of seven consecutive days beginning at 12:01
a.m. Sunday and ending at 12:00 midnight the following Saturday.
Authority:AS
16.05.060
AS
16.05.251
