Alaska Administrative Code › Title 5 - Fish and Game › Part 1 - Commercial and Subsistence Fishing and Private Nonprofit Salmon Hatcheries › Chapter 01 - Subsistence Finfish Fishery › Article 4 - Yukon Area › 5 AAC 01.220 - Lawful gear and gear specifications

Current through May 31, 2024
(a) Salmon may be
				  taken only by set and drift gillnet, dip net, beach seine, a hook and line
				  attached to a rod or pole, handline, or fish wheel, subject to the restrictions
				  set out in this section,
				  5 AAC 01.210, and
				  5 AAC 01.225 -
				  5 AAC 01.249.
(b) In District 4, salmon may be taken by
				  drift gillnets that are not more than 25 fathoms in length, unless closed by
				  emergency order.
(c) In Districts 5
				  and 6, salmon may not be taken for subsistence purposes by drift
				  gillnets.
(d) Unless otherwise
				  specified in this section, fish other than salmon and halibut may be taken only
				  by gillnet, dip net, beach seine, a hook and line attached to a rod or pole,
				  handline, fish wheel, fyke net, jigging gear, spear, longline, lead, or eel
				  stick.
(e) The following apply to
				  subsistence fishing:
(1) a gillnet may not
				  exceed seven and one-half inch mesh size;
(2) the aggregate length of set gillnets in
				  use by an individual may not exceed 150 fathoms;
(3) each drift gillnet in use by an
				  individual may not exceed 50 fathoms in length;
(4) in Subdistrict 5-C, between the Waldron
				  Creek ADF&G regulatory marker and Hess Creek, a single set gillnet in use
				  may not exceed 25 fathoms in length;
(5) subsistence set gillnets and fishwheels
				  may not be operated within 200 feet of another gillnet or fishwheel except as
				  follows:
(A) at the site approximately one
				  mile upstream from Ruby on the south bank of the Yukon River between ADF&G
				  regulatory markers containing the area known locally as the "Slide" subsistence
				  fishing gear may be set within 200 feet of other operating commercial or
				  subsistence fishing gear;
(B) in
				  District 4, from Old Paradise Village upstream to a point four miles upstream
				  from Anvik, there is no minimum distance requirement between fish
				  wheels;
(C) a person may operate a
				  beach seine, longline, fyke net, dip net, jigging gear, spear, a hook and line
				  attached to a rod or pole, handline, lead, or eel stick within 200 feet of
				  another person operating subsistence fishing gear;
(6) subsistence fishermen may operate one or
				  more subsistence fishing gears at the same time;
(7) a person may not subsistence fish while
				  commercial or personal use fishing at the same time;
(8) a gillnet may not obstruct more than
				  one-half the width of any fish stream and any channel or side channel of a fish
				  stream; a stationary fishing device may not obstruct more than one-half the
				  width of any salmon stream and any channel or side channel of a salmon stream,
				  except that in Racetrack Slough off of the Koyukuk River and in the sloughs of
				  the Huslia River drainage, from when each river is free of ice through June 15,
				  the offshore end of a set gillnet may not be closer than 20 feet from the
				  opposite bank, unless closed by emergency order;
(9) in that portion of Beaver Creek, not
				  included in the nonsubsistence area specified in
				  5 AAC 99.015(a)(4), gillnet mesh size
				  may not exceed four inches;
(10) in
				  Birch Creek, gillnet mesh size may not exceed four inches;
(11) in the South Fork of the Koyukuk River
				  drainage upstream from the mouth of the Jim River, and in the Middle Fork of
				  the Koyukuk River drainage upstream from the mouth of the North Fork, gillnet
				  gear may be used only from August 20 through June 30 and a gillnet mesh size
				  may not exceed three and one-half inches; a subsistence permit is required as
				  specified in
				  5 AAC 01.230(b)(9);
(12) during the subsistence fishing closures
				  specified in
				  5 AAC 01.210(b), all salmon gillnets
				  with a mesh size greater than four inches must be removed from the water and
				  fish wheels may not be operated;
(13) a beach seine may not be constructed of
				  monofilament web and may not exceed
(A) 150
				  fathoms in length;
(B) 100 meshes
				  in depth;
(C) a mesh size of four
				  inches stretched measure;
(14) coinciding with the migratory timing of
				  the fall chum salmon run, a person may not take fish with a gillnet that has a
				  mesh size greater than six inches through October 30, unless altered by
				  emergency order;
(15) in the
				  Coastal District and Districts 1 and 2, unless a person is fishing under the
				  ice, the float line and floats of gillnets must be floating on the surface of
				  the water while the net is fishing unless natural conditions cause the net to
				  temporarily sink;
(16) in Districts
				  3-6, unless a person is fishing under the ice, gillnets in operation sunk below
				  the surface must have a keg, buoy, or cluster of floats visible on the surface
				  of the water at each end of the submerged net, and for submerged gillnets over
				  60 feet in length, a third keg, buoy, or cluster of floats must be attached to
				  the middle of the net.