Current through August 30, 2024
(a) The management
plan in this section governs the harvest of Pacific cod in the Kodiak
Area.
(b) Each year the
commissioner shall open and close, by emergency order, a parallel season in the
Kodiak Area during which use of the gear allowed in the federal season for
Pacific cod in the Central Gulf of Alaska Area is permitted, unless that gear
is prohibited under
5
AAC 28.050,
5
AAC 28.430, or
5
AAC 28.450.
(c) Each year the commissioner shall open and
close, by emergency order, a state-waters season in the Kodiak Area for
mechanical jigging machine and hand troll gear and for pot gear, as follows:
(1) when a state-waters season for Pacific
cod is opened for mechanical jigging machine and hand troll gear or pot gear,
the parallel season for the applicable gear type is closed; the fishing season
for mechanical jigging machine and hand troll gear or pot gear will close when
the applicable gear type takes 50 percent of the annual Kodiak Area guideline
harvest level;
(2) the fishing
season for vessels longer than 58 feet in overall length fishing with pot gear
will close when 25 percent of the guideline harvest level has been taken by
those vessels or December 31, whichever occurs first, unless the pot gear
season has already been closed because pot gear has already taken 50 percent of
the Kodiak Area guideline harvest level; the restrictions under this paragraph
do not apply to a season reopened under (f) of this section.
(d) The seasons for mechanical
jigging machine and hand troll gear are as follows:
(1) the state-waters season shall open
January 1 and shall close when the mechanical jigging machine and hand troll
gear allocation is taken;
(2) the
parallel season that coincides with the federal Central Gulf of Alaska jig "A"
season shall open 48 hours after the closure of the mechanical jigging machine
and hand troll gear state-waters season;
(3) the parallel season that coincides with
the federal Central Gulf of Alaska jig gear "B" season shall open June 10 or
later based on inseason assessment of effort, harvest rate, or remaining
Pacific cod guideline harvest level;
(4) the state-waters season shall reopen 48
hours after the closure of the federal Central Gulf of Alaska jig gear "B"
season if the mechanical jigging machine and hand troll gear allocation has not
been taken.
(e) The
seasons for pot gear are as follows:
(1) the
state-waters season shall open seven days following the closure of the federal
Central Gulf of Alaska pot gear "A" season;
(2) the state-waters season shall close when
the pot gear allocation is taken or August 28, whichever occurs
first;
(3) the parallel season that
coincides with the federal Central Gulf of Alaska pot gear "B" season shall
open on September 1.
(f)
If during a state-waters season
(1) less than
10.2 percent of the mechanical jigging machine and hand troll gear guideline
harvest level allocation has been taken through March 25, the commissioner
shall reopen a state-waters season at 12:00 p.m. on April 1 and allow 50
percent of the remaining jig gear allocation, as of March 25, to be harvested
by vessels using pot or jig gear; the state-waters season reopened under this
paragraph for vessels using pot gear will close when 50 percent of the
remaining jig gear allocation as of March 25 has been taken by vessels using
pot gear or August 28, whichever occurs first;
(2) the state-waters season guideline harvest
level is not taken by the conclusion of the federal Central Gulf of Alaska pot
gear "B" season, the commissioner may reopen a state-waters season during which
all legal gear may be used, and shall close, by emergency order, the season on
December 31 or when the guideline harvest level is achieved, whichever occurs
first.
(g) The
commissioner may open and close, by emergency order, fishing seasons at times
other than those specified in this management plan 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.
(h) During a
state-waters season,
(1) the guideline
harvest level for Pacific cod in the Kodiak Area is 12.5 percent of the
estimated total allowable harvest of Pacific cod for the federal Central Gulf
of Alaska Area;
(2) Pacific cod may
be taken only with groundfish pots, mechanical jigging machines, and hand troll
gear, as follows:
(A) except as provided in
(j) of this section, no more than 60 groundfish pots may be operated from a
vessel registered to fish for Pacific cod;
(B) no more than six mechanical jigging
machines may be operated from a vessel registered to fish for Pacific
cod;
(C) in addition to the
requirements of
5
AAC 28.020, a vessel must be registered to fish with
pot gear or with mechanical jigging machine and hand troll gear (jig gear), and
may not simultaneously be registered to fish with more than one gear type; a
vessel's gear registration may be changed during a state-waters season to a
different gear registration if the owner, or the owner's agent, submits a
written request for a change in registration by mail, facsimile, or in person,
to the department office in Kodiak, or other locations specified by the
department, for validation, and that registration has been validated by the
department;
(D) during the seven
days 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 described in
5
AAC 28.432(a); or
(ii) being transported on board the vessel
and are not marked with identification tags.
(i) The Kodiak Area is an
exclusive registration area for Pacific cod during a state-waters
season.
(j) If at any time after
September 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
groundfish pots and mechanical jigging machines that may be operated from a
vessel;
(2) after October 30, if
needed, designation of the Kodiak Area as a nonexclusive registration area for
Pacific cod.
(k) If the
season is closed and immediately reopened under (j) of this section, a vessel
participating in the state-waters season when it was closed will not be
required to comply with the landing requirements of
5
AAC 28.471 until the season is closed again.
(l) If a state-waters season and federal
season for Pacific cod are opened concurrently for the same 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 Kodiak Area must be invalidated before that
vessel may participate in any other Pacific cod season;
(3) registration for a state-waters season
may only occur in person or by facsimile 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 in the Kodiak
Area.
(m) If a
state-waters season and federal season for Pacific cod are open concurrently
for different gear types, a vessel may not participate in a state-waters season
and any other Pacific cod season at the same time.
The department's office in Kodiak is located at 351
Research Court, Kodiak, Alaska 99615-7400; Telephone: (907) 486-1825; Fax:
(907) 486-1841.
Authority:AS
16.05.060
AS 16.05.251
