5 AAC 28.070 - Groundfish possession and landing requirements
(a) Unless
otherwise provided in this chapter,
(1) in a
groundfish fishery, a CFEC permit holder may not have on board a vessel
operated by that permit holder, bycatch of any other species or species group
of groundfish;
(2) in a halibut
fishery, a CFEC permit holder may not have on board a vessel operated by that
permit holder, bycatch of any species or species group of groundfish.
(b) Notwithstanding (a) of this
section or any other provision of this chapter, during times when the
commissioner determines it necessary for conservation of the resource, to avoid
waste of a bycatch species, to prevent overharvest of a bycatch species, or to
facilitate consistency of state and federal regulations for a species, the
commissioner may close and reopen fishing seasons to provide for changes to
groundfish bycatch levels, as provided in this subsection. The commissioner
may, by emergency order, close a directed groundfish season and immediately
reopen a season during which a CFEC permit holder may have on board a bycatch
level of another groundfish species, established by the commissioner and stated
in the emergency order, of up to 20 percent, by weight, of the directed
groundfish species on board the vessel. Regarding a directed halibut fishery,
the commissioner may, by emergency order, close and immediately reopen the
fishing season for a bycatch groundfish species during which a CFEC halibut
permit holder may have on board a bycatch level of that groundfish species,
established by the commissioner and stated in the emergency order, of up to 20
percent, by weight, of the halibut on board the vessel. If a CFEC permit holder
has on board the permit holder's vessel fish taken in more than one directed
fishery for which a bycatch level has been established under this subsection,
each applicable bycatch level percentage is applied to the weight of the fish
taken in the applicable directed fishery and the resulting amounts are added
together to determine the total weight of the bycatch species that may be on
board the vessel.
(c) In the waters
of Alaska,
(1) a CFEC permit holder who has a
groundfish species on board the permit holder's vessel may not operate
groundfish gear in an area in which the taking of that species of groundfish is
prohibited;
(2) a CFEC permit
holder, while taking fish in an area or having taken fish in an area during the
same trip, may not have on board the permit holder's vessel an aggregate amount
of a groundfish species that exceeds the amount allowed by regulation for that
area, regardless of where the groundfish were taken.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of
this chapter, if the operator of a catcher/processor vessel has written
authorization from the department, the operator may retain on board the vessel
an amount of processed fish that exceeds a limit set by this chapter. The
department will issue the written authorization if completed fish tickets for
all fish on board the vessel have been submitted to the department or an
authorized department representative before the beginning of the next fishing
period in which the operator intends to fish.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of
this section, a CFEC permit holder operating a vessel fishing for groundfish
shall bring on board the vessel all Pacific cod and walleye pollock caught
while operating the vessel. The permit holder or a crewmember may not take any
action intended to discard or release Pacific cod or walleye pollock before the
fish is brought on board the vessel. The permit holder shall retain
(1) all Pacific cod brought on board a vessel
when a directed fishery for Pacific cod is open and all Pacific cod brought on
board a vessel up to the maximum retainable bycatch of Pacific cod when a
directed fishery for Pacific cod is closed;
(2) all walleye pollock brought on board a
vessel when a directed fishery for walleye pollock is open and all walleye
pollock brought on board a vessel up to the maximum retainable bycatch of
walleye pollack when a directed fishery for walleye pollack is
closed.
(f) Partial
deliveries of groundfish may occur as follows:
(1) a CFEC permit holder landing groundfish
shall notify the processor of any groundfish remaining on board the vessel
after the delivery, and the processor shall report the landing as a partial
delivery with the eLandings system or on an ADF&G fish ticket;
(2) except for a reported partial delivery,
(A) a person delivering groundfish to a
processor shall land all groundfish on board the vessel;
(B) a processor that accepts delivery of or
purchases groundfish from a vessel shall sort and weigh by species all
groundfish landed by a vessel, and groundfish may be returned to a vessel only
after the landing is reported as specified in
5 AAC 39.130;
(3) groundfish that remains on board, or is
returned to, a vessel may not be designated as discarded at sea for eLanding or
ADF&G fish ticket purposes;
(4)
after making a partial delivery, a vessel operator may not offload any
groundfish remaining on board the vessel unless making a final delivery and
landing all groundfish from the vessel.
Notes
Authority:AS 16.05.060
AS 16.05.251
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