Current through August 30, 2024
(a) This management
plan governs the harvest of Pacific cod in the Dutch Harbor Subdistrict. For
the purposes of this section, the Dutch Harbor Subdistrict is comprised of the
state waters in the Aleutian Islands District east of 170° W. long.j and
the state waters of the Bering Sea District that are west of 162° 30.00'W.
long., east of 170° W. long., and south of 55° 30.00' N. lat, except
that the waters of the Dutch Harbor Subdistrict south of 53° 06.11' N. lat.
are closed to taking Pacific cod during a state-waters season.
(b) Each year the commissioner shall open and
close, by emergency order, a parallel season in the Dutch Harbor Subdistrict
during which the use of gear allowed in the federal season for Pacific cod in
the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area is permitted, unless that gear is
prohibited under
5
AAC 28.050 or
5
AAC 28.629.
(c) Each year the commissioner shall open and
close by emergency order, a state-waters season in the Dutch Harbor Subdistrict
for pot gear and mechanical jigging machines. For the purposes of this section,
when a state-waters season for Pacific cod for pot gear or mechanical jigging
machines is open, the parallel season for the applicable gear type is closed
for vessels that are 58 feet or less in overall length. The commissioner shall
close the state-waters season by emergency order when the guideline harvest
level is achieved or December 31, whichever occurs first.
(d) The state-waters season shall open as
follows:
(1) for pot gear, at 12:00 noon
seven days following the closure of the initial season for the federal Bering
Sea and Aleutian Islands hook-and-line and pot catcher vessel less than 60 feet
in overall length sector.
(2) for
mechanical jigging machines, on May 1.
(e) During a state-waters season,
(1) the guideline harvest level for Pacific
cod in the Dutch Harbor Subdistrict is
(A)
for pot gear in 2023,12 percent of the estimated total allowable harvest of
Pacific cod for the federal Bering Sea Subarea; if the guideline harvest level
established under this subparagraph is achieved during two consecutive calendar
years, the guideline harvest level will increase by one percent of the
estimated total allowable harvest beginning the subsequent calendar year; a
guideline harvest level established under this subparagraph
(i) may not exceed 15 percent of the
estimated total allowable harvest of Pacific cod for the federal Bering Sea
Subarea;
(ii) f not achieved during
two consecutive calendar years will be reduced by one percent of the estimated
total allowable harvest of Pacific cod for the federal Bering Sea Subarea
beginning the subsequent calendar year, but may not be reduced below 10 percent
of the estimated total allowable harvest; and
(iii) is considered to have been achieved if,
by November 15, 90 percent of that guideline harvest level is projected to be
harvested by the end of that calendar year; and
(B) for mechanical jigging machines, 100,000
pounds of the estimated total allowable harvest of Pacific cod for the federal
Bering Sea Subarea:
(2)
Pacific cod may be taken only with groundfish pots and mechanical jigging
machines as follows:
(A) exept as provided in
(h) of this section no more than
(i) 60
groundfish pots may be operated from a vessel registered to fish for Pacific
cod;
(ii) 5 mechanical jigging
machines may be operated from a vessel registered to fish for Pacific
cod;
(B) in addition to
the requirements of
5
AAC 28.020, a vessel must be registered to
fish;
(C) a vessel registered to
take Pacific cod may not be longer than 58 feet in overall length;
(D) during the seven days immediately
following the opening of the state-waters season, an operator of a vessel
registered to fish for Pacific cod may store or transport groundfish pots in
excess of the pot limit established in (A) of this paragraph if the pots are
(i) stored in waters not more than 25 fathoms
deep as specified in
5
AAC 28.632; or
(ii) are being transported on board the
vessel and are not marked with identification
tags.
(f) The commissioner may open and close, by
emergency order, fishing seasons at times other than those specified in this
section if the commissioner determines it is necessary to
(1) adapt to unanticipated openings and
closures of the federal season;
(2)
maintain sustained yield management; or
(3) provide for orderly
fisheries.
(g) The Dutch
Harbor Subdistrict is
(1) an exclusive
registration area for a vessel validly registered to take Pacific cod with not
gear: and
(2) a nonexclusive
registration area for a vessel validly registered to take Pacific cod with
mechanical jigging machines.
(h) If at any time after October 1 the
commissioner determines that the guideline harvest level for Pacific cod will
not be achieved by December 31, the commissioner may close, by emergency order,
the fishing season and immediately reopen a state-waters season during which
the following shall be implemented to increase the harvest rate in an attempt
to reach the guideline harvest level:
(1)
removal of the limits on the number of pots and mechanical jigging machines
that may be operated from a vessel;
(2) if needed, designation of the Dutch
Harbor Subdistrict as a nonexclusive registration area for Pacific
cod;
(3) if needed, allow a vessel
of any size to register and fish for Pacific cod in the Dutch Harbor
Subdistrict;
(4) if the season is
closed and immediately reopened under this subsection, a vessel participating
in the state-waters season when it was closed will not be required to comply
with landing requirements until the season is closed again.
(i) If the season is closed and immediately
reopened under (f) of this section, a vessel operator participating in the
state-waters season when it was closed may not have Pacific cod on board the
vessel after 48 hours after the closure, unless the vessel has been delayed due
to extraordinary circumstances beyond the control of the vessel operator, and
the vessel operator has contacted a local representative of the department not
later than 48 hours following the closure of the season and the representative
has granted a reasonable amount of time for the vessel to reach the port of
delivery or processing location. Any amount of additional time shall be
determined under the assumption that the vessel departed the fishing grounds
immediately after the closure and proceeded directly to the port of delivery or
processing location.
(j) In the
state-waters season, a vessel owner or operator using pot gear must report, as
specified in the registration form, to the local representative of the
department by telephone, electronic mail, or radio
(1) the number of pot lifts from the vessel
in the previous 24-hour reporting period;
(2) the number of pounds of Pacific cod
retained on the vessel during the previous 24-hour period; and
(3) any other information that the
commissioner determines is necessary for the management and conservation of the
fishery.
(k) If a
state-waters season and federal season for Pacific cod are open concurrently
for a different gear type,
(1) a vessel may
not participate in a state-waters season and any other Pacific cod season at
the same time;
(2) a vessel's
registration for the state-waters season in the Dutch Harbor Subdistrict must
be invalidated before that vessel may participate in any other Pacific cod
season;
(3) registration for a
state-waters season may occur only in person, or by facsimile transmission or
electronic mail, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on a working day at a department
office designated by the department; and
(4) all groundfish on board a vessel must be
landed before that vessel may have the vessel's registration invalidated or be
registered for a state-waters season for Pacific cod outside the Dutch Harbor
Subdistrict.
(l) The
federal fishery management measures for the protection of Steller sea lions are
imposed as specified for the Bering Sea Area in Table 5 to 50 C.F.R. 679, as
defined in 79 Federal Register 70286-70338, November 25, 2014, and as specified
in Table 12 to 50 C.F.R., Part 679, as defined in 75 Federal Register
81921-81941, December 29, 2010, except that the following Steller sea lion
haulouts listed in Table 5 are closed to the taking of Pacific cod within three
nautical miles:
(1) Umnak Island/Cape Aslik
at 53° 25.00' N. lat., 68° 24.50' W. long.;
(2) Uliaga at 53° 04.00' N. lat.,
169° 47.00' W. long. to 53° 05.00' N. lat., 169° 46.00' W.
long.;
(3) Kagamil at 53°
02.10' N. lat., 169° 41.00' W. long.
Authority:AS
16.05.060
AS 16.05.251
