Alaska Department of Fish and Game 2013–2014 Commercial Finfish and Shellfish Fishing General Regulation & Statute Provisions This booklet contains statutes and general provisions regarding commercial fisheries in the State of Alaska. This booklet covers the period June 2013 through June 2014 or until the 2014 book is available, whichever occurs first. Note to Readers: These statutes and administrative regulations were excerpted from the Alaska Statutes and the Alaska Administrative Code (AAC) based on the official regulations on file with the Lieutenant Governor. There may be errors or omissions that have not been identified and changes that occurred after this printing. This booklet is intended as an informational guide only. To be certain of the current laws, refer to the official statutes and the AAC. Changes to Regulations in this booklet: The regulations appearing in this booklet may be changed by emergency regulation or emergency order at any time. Supplementary changes to the regulations in this booklet will be available at offices of the Department of Fish and Game. This publication was released by the Department of Fish and Game. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) administers all programs and activities free from discrimination based on race, color, national origin, age, sex, religion, marital status, pregnancy, parenthood, or disability. The department administers all programs and activities in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. If you believe you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility please write: * ADF&G ADA Coordinator, P.O. Box 115526, Juneau, AK 99811-5526 * U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, MS 2042, Arlington, VA 22203 * Office of Equal Opportunity, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street NW MS 5230, Washington DC 20240. The department’s ADA Coordinator can be reached via phone at the following numbers. * (VOICE) 907-465-6077 * (Statewide Telecommunication Device for the Deaf) 1-800-478-3648 * (Juneau TDD) 907-465-3646 * (FAX) 907-465-6078 For information on alternative formats and questions on this publication, please contact the Regulation Program Coordinator at (907) 465-6124. 2 ADF&G Mission Statement The Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s mission is to manage, protect, maintain, and improve the fish, game and aquatic plant resources of Alaska. The primary goals are to ensure that Alaska’s renewable fish and wildlife resources and their habitats are conserved and managed on the sustained yield principle, and the use and development of these resources are in the best interest of the economy and well-being of the people of the state. Guiding Principles • Seeking excellence in carrying out its responsibilities under state and federal law, the department will: • Provide for the greatest long-term opportunities for people to use and enjoy Alaska’s fish, wildlife and habitat resources. • Improve public accessibility to, and encourage active involvement by the public in, the department’s decision making processes. • Build a working environment based on mutual trust and respect between the department and the public, and among department staff. • Maintain the highest standards of scientific integrity and provide the most accurate and current information possible. • Foster professionalism in department staff, promote innovative and creative resource management, and provide ongoing training and education for career development. GOVERNOR OF ALASKA Sean Parnell ALASKA BOARD OF FISHERIES Karl Johnstone, chair ........................................................................... Anchorage John Jensen ...........................................................................................Petersburg Susan Jeffrey ............................................................................................. Kodiak Tom Kluberton ....................................................................................... Talkeetna Orville Huntington ...................................................................................... Huslia Reed Morisky ......................................................................................... Fairbanks Vacant ..................................................................................................................... COMMISSIONER, ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME Cora Campbell DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF COMMERCIAL FISHERIES Jeff Regnart 3 ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME, DIVISION OF COMMERCIAL FISHERIES, MANAGEMENT FIELD OFFICES Anchorage 267-2105 Glennallen 822-3309 Petersburg 772-3801 Atka 839-2243 Haines 766-2830 Port Moller 375-2716 Bethel 543-2433 Homer 235-8191 Saint Marys 438-2410 Chignik 845-2243 Juneau 465-4250 Sand Point 383-2066 Cold Bay 532-2419 Ketchikan 225-5195 Sitka 747-6688 Cordova 424-3213 King Salmon 246-3341 Soldotna 262-9368 Dillingham 842-5227 Kodiak 486-1825 Unalakleet 624-3921 Dutch Harbor 581-1239 Kotzebue 442-3420 Wrangell 874-3822 Emmonak 949-1320 Nome 443-5167 Yakutat 784-3255 Fairbanks 459-7274 Galena 656-1349 Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission Juneau 789-6160 TABLE OF CONTENTS Selected Alaska Statutes ......................................................................................6 Selected Statewide General Provisions ..............................................................50 SELECTED ALASKA STATUTES SELECTED ALASKA STATUTES Title 16. Fish and Game. Chapter 05. Fish and Game Code and Definitions. Sec. 16.05.050. Powers and duties of the commissioner. The commissioner has, but not by way of limitation, the following powers and duties: (1) through the appropriate state agency and under the provisions of AS 36.30 (State Procurement Code), to acquire by gift, purchase, or lease, or other lawful means, land, buildings, water, rights-of-way, or other necessary or proper real or personal property when the acquisition is in the interest of furthering an objective or purpose of the department or state; (2) under provisions of AS 36.30, to design and construct hatcheries, pipelines, rearing ponds, fishways, and other projects beneficial for the fish and game resources of the state; (3) to accept money from any person under conditions requiring the use of the money for specific purposes in the furtherance of the protection, rehabilitation, propagation, preservation, or investigation of the fish and game resources of the state or in settlement of claims for damages to fish or game resources; (4) to collect, classify, and disseminate statistics, data and information that, in the commissioner's discretion, will tend to promote the purposes of this title except AS 16.51 and AS 16.52; (5) to take, capture, propagate, transport, buy, sell, or exchange fish or game or eggs for propagating, scientific, public safety, or stocking purposes; (6) under the provisions of AS 36.30, to provide public facilities where necessary or proper to facilitate the taking of fish or game, and to enter into cooperative agreements with any person to effect them; (7) to exercise administrative, budgeting, and fiscal powers; (8) under the provisions of AS 36.30, to construct, operate, supervise, and maintain vessels used by the department; (9) to authorize the holder of an interim-use permit under AS 16.43 to engage on an experimental basis in commercial taking of a fishery resource with vessel, gear, and techniques not presently qualifying for licensing under this chapter in conformity with standards established by the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission; (10) not later than January 31 of each year, to provide to the commissioner of revenue the names of those fish and shellfish species that the commissioner of fish and game designates as developing commercial fish species for that calendar year; a fish or shellfish species is a developing commercial fish species if, within a specified geographical region, (A) the optimum yield from the harvest of the species has not been reached; (B) a substantial portion of the allowable harvest of the species has been allocated to fishing vessels of a foreign nation; or (C) a commercial harvest of the fish species has recently developed; (11) to initiate or conduct research necessary or advisable to carry out the purposes of this title except AS 16.51 and AS 16.52; 6 SELECTED ALASKA STATUTES (12) to enter into cooperative agreements with agencies of the federal government, educational institutions, or other agencies or organizations, when in the public interest, to carry out the purposes of this title except AS 16.51 and AS 16.52; (13) to implement an on-board observer program authorized by the Board of Fisheries under AS 16.05.251(a)(13); implementation (A) must be as unintrusive to vessel operations as practicable; and (B) must make scheduling and scope of observers' activities as predictable as practicable; (14) to sell fish caught during commercial fisheries test fishing operations; (15) to establish and charge fees equal to the cost of services provided by the department, including provision of public shooting ranges, broodstock and eggs for private nonprofit hatcheries, department publications, and other direct services, and reasonable fees for the use of state facilities managed by the department; fees established under this paragraph for the use of hatchery facilities, commercial use of sport fishing access sites, and