(a) The purpose of
this management plan is to ensure an adequate escapement of king salmon into
the Northern District drainages and to provide management guidelines to the
department. The department shall manage the Northern District king salmon
stocks primarily for sport and guided sport uses in order to provide sport and
guided sport fishermen with a reasonable opportunity to harvest these salmon
over the entire run as measured by the frequency of inriver restrictions. The
department shall manage the Northern District for the commercial harvest of
king salmon as follows:
(1) except as
specified in (8) of this section, the season will open for commercial fishing
periods with the first fishing period beginning on the first Monday on or after
May 25, except when May 25 falls within a closed period, in which case the
season opens the next following open period and continues through June 24,
unless closed earlier by emergency order;
(2) fishing periods are from 7:00 a.m. to
7:00 p.m. on Mondays;
(3) the
harvest may not exceed 4,500 king salmon;
(4) set gillnets may not exceed 35 fathoms in
length and six inches in mesh size;
(5) no CFEC permit holder may operate more
than one set gillnet per permit at a time;
(6) no set gillnet may be set or operated
within 1,200 feet of another set gillnet;
(7) no CFEC permit holder may set a gillnet
seaward of a set gillnet operated by another CFEC permit holder;
(8) from May 25 through June 24, the area
from an ADF&G regulatory marker located one mile south of the Theodore
River to the Susitna River is open to fishing the second regular Monday period
only;
(9) if the Theodore, Lewis,
or Ivan River is closed to sport fishing, the commissioner shall close, by
emergency order, the area from an ADF&G regulatory marker located one mile
south of the Theodore River to the Susitna River to commercial king salmon
fishing for the remainder of the fishing periods provided for under this
section;
(10) if the king salmon
sport fishery on the Deshka River as described in 5 AAC 61 is
(A) conducted as a no bait fishery, the
commissioner shall, by emergency order, reduce the time allowed per commercial
set gillnet fishing period provided for in this section to no more than nine
hours in duration, or from 7:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.;
(B) conducted as a catch and release fishery,
the commissioner shall, by emergency order, reduce the time allowed per fishing
period provided for in this section to no more than six hours in duration, or
from 7:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.;
(C)
closed, the commissioner shall close, by emergency order, the commercial king
salmon fishery throughout the Northern District;
(11) if the Chuitna River is closed to sport
fishing, the commissioner shall close, by emergency order, the area from a
point at the wood chip dock located approximately at 61° 02.77' N. lat.,
151° 10.04' W. long., to the Susitna River to commercial king salmon
fishing for the remainder of the directed king salmon fishery;
(12) if the inseason Deshka River run
projection is below the sustainable escapement goal, the commissioner may, by
emergency order, close the commercial salmon set gillnet fishery throughout the
Northern District.
(b)
The commissioner may depart from the provisions of the management plan under
this section as provided in
5
AAC 21.363(e).
