Alaska Administrative Code › Title 5 - Fish and Game › Part 1 - Commercial and Subsistence Fishing and Private Nonprofit Salmon Hatcheries › Chapter 21 - Cook Inlet Area › Article 3 - Salmon Fishery › 5 AAC 21.366 - Northern District King Salmon Management Plan

Current through May 31, 2024
(a) The purpose of
				  this management plan is to ensure an adequate escapement of king salmon into
				  the Northern District drainages and to provide management guidelines to the
				  department. The department shall manage the Northern District king salmon
				  stocks primarily for sport and guided sport uses in order to provide sport and
				  guided sport fishermen with a reasonable opportunity to harvest these salmon
				  over the entire run as measured by the frequency of inriver restrictions. The
				  department shall manage the Northern District for the commercial harvest of
				  king salmon as follows:
(1) except as
				  specified in (8) of this section, the season will open for commercial fishing
				  periods with the first fishing period beginning on the first Monday on or after
				  May 25, except when May 25 falls within a closed period, in which case the
				  season opens the next following open period and continues through June 24,
				  unless closed earlier by emergency order;
(2) fishing periods are from 7:00 a.m. to
				  7:00 p.m. on Mondays;
(3) the
				  harvest may not exceed 4,500 king salmon;
(4) set gillnets may not exceed 35 fathoms in
				  length and six inches in mesh size;
(5) no CFEC permit holder may operate more
				  than one set gillnet per permit at a time;
(6) no set gillnet may be set or operated
				  within 1,200 feet of another set gillnet;
(7) no CFEC permit holder may set a gillnet
				  seaward of a set gillnet operated by another CFEC permit holder;
(8) from May 25 through June 24, the area
				  from an ADF&G regulatory marker located one mile south of the Theodore
				  River to the Susitna River is open to fishing the second regular Monday period
				  only;
(9) if the Theodore, Lewis,
				  or Ivan River is closed to sport fishing, the commissioner shall close, by
				  emergency order, the area from an ADF&G regulatory marker located one mile
				  south of the Theodore River to the Susitna River to commercial king salmon
				  fishing for the remainder of the fishing periods provided for under this
				  section;
(10) if the king salmon
				  sport fishery on the Deshka River as described in 5 AAC 61 is
(A) conducted as a no bait fishery, the
				  commissioner shall, by emergency order, reduce the time allowed per commercial
				  set gillnet fishing period provided for in this section to no more than nine
				  hours in duration, or from 7:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.;
(B) conducted as a catch and release fishery,
				  the commissioner shall, by emergency order, reduce the time allowed per fishing
				  period provided for in this section to no more than six hours in duration, or
				  from 7:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.;
(C)
				  closed, the commissioner shall close, by emergency order, the commercial king
				  salmon fishery throughout the Northern District;
(11) if the Chuitna River is closed to sport
				  fishing, the commissioner shall close, by emergency order, the area from a
				  point at the wood chip dock located approximately at 61° 02.77' N. lat.,
				  151° 10.04' W. long., to the Susitna River to commercial king salmon
				  fishing for the remainder of the directed king salmon fishery;
(12) if the inseason Deshka River run
				  projection is below the sustainable escapement goal, the commissioner may, by
				  emergency order, close the commercial salmon set gillnet fishery throughout the
				  Northern District.