Alaska Administrative Code › Title 5 - Fish and Game › Part 1 - Commercial and Subsistence Fishing and Private Nonprofit Salmon Hatcheries › Chapter 06 - Bristol Bay Area › Article 3 - Salmon Fishery › 5 AAC 06.358 - Wood River Sockeye Salmon Special Harvest Area Management Plan

Current through May 31, 2024
(a) The goal of
				  this plan is to achieve Nushagak River coho salmon spawning escapement, while
				  providing opportunities to harvest Wood River sockeye salmon stocks that are in
				  excess of spawning goals. It is the intent of the Board of Fisheries (board)
				  that salmon in the Nushagak District should be harvested in the fisheries that
				  have historically harvested them, including the methods, means, times, and
				  locations of those fisheries, using the best biological management techniques
				  and practices. This plan has been adopted to provide management alternatives
				  that may be used by the department when differences in salmon run strengths
				  would otherwise preclude the achievement of the goal of this plan.
(b) The Wood River Special Harvest Area
				  consists of the waters of the Wood River between a line from Hansen Point at
				  59° 06.05' N. lat., 158° 29.30' W. long. to a point across from Hansen
				  Point at 59° 06.29' N. lat., 158° 28.84' W. long. and upstream to a
				  line from a point on the west shore of the Wood River downstream of the Muklung
				  River at 59° 09.71' N. lat., 158° 32.61' W. long. to a point on the
				  east shore of the Wood River downstream of the Muklung River at 59° 09. 78'
				  N. lat., 158° 31.99' W. long., and the waters between a line from a point
				  on the west shore of the Wood River upstream of the Muklung River at 59°
				  11.03' N. lat., 158° 32.82' W. long. to a point on the east shore of the
				  Wood River upstream of the Muklung River at 59° 11.08' N. lat., 158°
				  32.48' W. long. and upstream to a line from a point on the west shore of the
				  Wood River downstream of Silver Salmon Creek at 59° 12.26' N. lat.,
				  158° 33.34' W. long. to a point on the east shore of the Wood River
				  downstream of Silver Salmon Creek at 59° 12.20' N. lat., 158° 33.12' W.
				  long.
(c) The commissioner may
				  open, by emergency order, the Wood River Special Harvest Area
(1) when the department projects that the
				  sockeye salmon escapement into the Wood River will exceed 700,000 fish and as
				  follows:
(A) if the preseason forecast for
				  the Nushagak River sockeye salmon run is at least 1,000,000 fish, the
				  department shall manage the Nushagak District to exceed a minimum sustainable
				  escapement goal of 370,000 sockeye salmon to the Nushagak River, and the
				  commissioner may open the Wood River Special Harvest Area only when department
				  projections indicate the Nushagak River sockeye salmon escapement will be less
				  than 370,000 fish;
(B) if the
				  preseason forecast for the Nushagak River sockeye salmon run is less than
				  1,000,000 fish and the ratio of Wood River to Nushagak River sockeye salmon is
				  projected to be greater than three to one, the department shall manage the
				  Nushagak District for an optimal escapement goal of at least 260,000 sockeye
				  salmon to the Nushagak River, and the commissioner may open the Wood River
				  Special Harvest Area only when department projections indicate the Nushagak
				  River sockeye salmon escapement will be less than 260,000 fish;
(C) if the in season forecast prepared by the
				  department during the first week of July for the Nushagak River sockeye salmon
				  run is at least 1,000,000 fish, the department shall manage the Nushagak
				  District to exceed a minimum sustainable escapement goal of 370,000 sockeye
				  salmon to the Nushagak River, and the commissioner may open the Wood River
				  Special Harvest Area only when department projections indicate the Nushagak
				  River sockeye salmon escapement will be less than 370,000 fish;
(D) if the in season forecast prepared by the
				  department during the first week of July for the Nushagak River sockeye salmon
				  run is less than 1,000,000 fish, the department shall manage the Nushagak
				  District for an optimal escapement goal of at least 260,000 sockeye salmon to
				  the Nushagak River, and the commissioner may open the Wood River Special
				  Harvest Area only when department projections indicate the Nushagak River
				  sockeye salmon escapement will be less than 260,000 fish;