Alaska Administrative Code
Title 5 - Fish and Game
Part 1 - Commercial and Subsistence Fishing and Private Nonprofit Salmon Hatcheries
Chapter 28 - Groundfish Fishery
Article 2 - General Specifications
5 AAC 28.070 - Groundfish possession and landing requirements

Universal Citation: 5 AK Admin Code 28.070

Current through August 30, 2024

(a) Unless otherwise provided in this chapter,

(1) in a groundfish fishery, a CFEC permit holder may not have on board a vessel operated by that permit holder, bycatch of any other species or species group of groundfish;

(2) in a halibut fishery, a CFEC permit holder may not have on board a vessel operated by that permit holder, bycatch of any species or species group of groundfish.

(b) Notwithstanding (a) of this section or any other provision of this chapter, during times when the commissioner determines it necessary for conservation of the resource, to avoid waste of a bycatch species, to prevent overharvest of a bycatch species, or to facilitate consistency of state and federal regulations for a species, the commissioner may close and reopen fishing seasons to provide for changes to groundfish bycatch levels, as provided in this subsection. The commissioner may, by emergency order, close a directed groundfish season and immediately reopen a season during which a CFEC permit holder may have on board a bycatch level of another groundfish species, established by the commissioner and stated in the emergency order, of up to 20 percent, by weight, of the directed groundfish species on board the vessel. Regarding a directed halibut fishery, the commissioner may, by emergency order, close and immediately reopen the fishing season for a bycatch groundfish species during which a CFEC halibut permit holder may have on board a bycatch level of that groundfish species, established by the commissioner and stated in the emergency order, of up to 20 percent, by weight, of the halibut on board the vessel. If a CFEC permit holder has on board the permit holder's vessel fish taken in more than one directed fishery for which a bycatch level has been established under this subsection, each applicable bycatch level percentage is applied to the weight of the fish taken in the applicable directed fishery and the resulting amounts are added together to determine the total weight of the bycatch species that may be on board the vessel.

(c) In the waters of Alaska,

(1) a CFEC permit holder who has a groundfish species on board the permit holder's vessel may not operate groundfish gear in an area in which the taking of that species of groundfish is prohibited;

(2) a CFEC permit holder, while taking fish in an area or having taken fish in an area during the same trip, may not have on board the permit holder's vessel an aggregate amount of a groundfish species that exceeds the amount allowed by regulation for that area, regardless of where the groundfish were taken.

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, if the operator of a catcher/processor vessel has written authorization from the department, the operator may retain on board the vessel an amount of processed fish that exceeds a limit set by this chapter. The department will issue the written authorization if completed fish tickets for all fish on board the vessel have been submitted to the department or an authorized department representative before the beginning of the next fishing period in which the operator intends to fish.

(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a CFEC permit holder operating a vessel fishing for groundfish shall bring on board the vessel all Pacific cod and walleye pollock caught while operating the vessel. The permit holder or a crewmember may not take any action intended to discard or release Pacific cod or walleye pollock before the fish is brought on board the vessel. The permit holder shall retain

(1) all Pacific cod brought on board a vessel when a directed fishery for Pacific cod is open and all Pacific cod brought on board a vessel up to the maximum retainable bycatch of Pacific cod when a directed fishery for Pacific cod is closed;

(2) all walleye pollock brought on board a vessel when a directed fishery for walleye pollock is open and all walleye pollock brought on board a vessel up to the maximum retainable bycatch of walleye pollack when a directed fishery for walleye pollack is closed.

(f) Partial deliveries of groundfish may occur as follows:

(1) a CFEC permit holder landing groundfish shall notify the processor of any groundfish remaining on board the vessel after the delivery, and the processor shall report the landing as a partial delivery with the eLandings system or on an ADF&G fish ticket;

(2) except for a reported partial delivery,
(A) a person delivering groundfish to a processor shall land all groundfish on board the vessel;

(B) a processor that accepts delivery of or purchases groundfish from a vessel shall sort and weigh by species all groundfish landed by a vessel, and groundfish may be returned to a vessel only after the landing is reported as specified in 5 AAC 39.130;

(3) groundfish that remains on board, or is returned to, a vessel may not be designated as discarded at sea for eLanding or ADF&G fish ticket purposes;

(4) after making a partial delivery, a vessel operator may not offload any groundfish remaining on board the vessel unless making a final delivery and landing all groundfish from the vessel.

Authority:AS 16.05.060

AS 16.05.251

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