5 AAC 27.185 - Management plan for herring spawn on kelp in pounds fisheries in Sections 3-B, 12-A, and 13-C, and District 7

(a) In Sections 3-B, 12-A, and 13-C, and District 7, of the Southeastern Alaska Area, the department shall set an annual guideline harvest range for herring spawn on kelp in pounds based on the forecasted return of mature spawning herring. The department shall manage the fishery to keep the harvest within the guideline harvest range each season by restricting CFEC permit holders operating a herring spawn-on-kelp pound to a specific number of kelp blades or fronds annually according to the provisions of this section.

(b) In Sections 3-B, 12-A, and 13-C, and District 7, a herring spawn-on-kelp CFEC permit holder may jointly operate an open pound with one or more other herring spawn-on-kelp CFEC permit holders and a closed pound with up to two other herring spawn-on-kelp CFEC permit holders. A permit holder operating an open pound may use fronds or individual kelp blades in the open pound, but may not use both during a fishing season. The department may close fishing with one or more pound types in (c) and (dd)(2) of this section to avoid exceeding the guideline harvest Jcvel.

(c) In Section 3-B and District 7, the kelp allocation per permit holder, is as follow:

Guideline Harvest Range for Herring (tons)	Single-Permit Closed Pounds	Double-Permit Closed Pounds	Triple-Permit Closed Pounds	Quadruple-Permit or More Closed Pounds	Single-Permit Open Pound	Multiple-Permit Open Pound
50-249	None	None	None	None	750 blades	2,000 blades
250-399	100 blades	200 blades	300 blades	500 blades	1,000 blades	3,000 blades
400-599	200 blades	300 blades	600 blades	700 blades	1,000 blades	3,000 blades
600-799	300 blades	400 blades	700 blades	800 blades	1,500 blades	4,500 blades
800-999	400 blades	500 blades	800 blades	1,000 blades	2,000 blades	6,000 blades
1,000-1,499	500 blades	750 blades	1,000 blades	1,000 blades	2,500 blades	7,500 blades
1,500 or more	600 blades	900 blades	1,000 blades	1,000 blades	3,000 blades	9,000 blades

(d) In Section 12-A and Section 13-C, the kelp allocation per permit holder is as follows:

Guideline Harvest Range for Herring (tons)	Single-Permit Closed Pounds	Double-Permit Closed Pounds	Triple-Permit Closed Pounds	Quadruple-Permit or More Closed Pounds	Single-Permit Open Pound	Multiple-Permit Open Pound
0-299	None	None	None	None	300 blades	400 blades
300-499	100 blades	200 blades	300 blades	600 blades	600 blades	700 blades
500-699	200 blades	300 blades	500 blades	800 blades	900 blades	1,000 blades
700-899	300 blades	500 blades	700 blades	900 blades	1,000 blades	1,200 blades
900-1,399	400 blades	700 blades	900 blades	1,000 blades	1,200 blades	1,500 blades
1,400 or more	700 blades	900 blades	1,000 blades	1,000 blades	1,200 blades	1,500 blades

(e) Repealed 7/1/2015.

(f) Pounds for the taking of herring spawn on kelp and seines for the taking of herring for placement in pounds may be operated only in the following locations:

(1) in Section 3-B, in the waters of the Gulf of Esquibel, San Alberto Bay, Shinaku Inlet, and San Christoval Channel south of the latitude of the northern mo t tip of t. Phillips island at 55° 39.31' N. lat., 133° 25.12' W. long., cast of a line from the northernmost tip of St. Phillips Island to the northernmost tip of Point Garcia at 55° 33.65' N. lat., 133° 26.47' W. long., and north of a line from Entrance Point to the southernmost tip of Clam Island to the southernmost tip of Fern Point and east of 133° 20' W. long.;

(A) Klawock Inlet and Big Salt Lake;

(B) the waters of San Christoval Channel in the main channel enclosed by a line from 55° 35.62' N. lat., 133° 20' W. long. to 55° 35.17' N. lat., 133° 20' W. long. to 55° 33.37' N. lat., 133° 17.52' W. long. to 55° 33.50' N. lat., 133° 17.28' W. long.;

(C) the waters of Fish Egg and Ballena Islands south of 55° 31' N. lat. and north of the southernmost tip of Cape Suspiro and east of the longitude of Ballena Island Shoal Light;

(2) in District 7, in the waters of Ernest Sound east of a line from Point Eaton to Lemesurier Point;

(3) in Section 12-A, in the waters of Chatham Strait and Tenakee Inlet south of the latitude of 57° 46' N. lat., and north of the latitude of Peninsular Point (57° 30.30' N. lat.) and west of 134° 50' W. long.;

(4) in Section 13-C, in the waters of Hoonah Sound north and west of a line from Point Marie to a point on the northern shore of Hoonah Sound at 57° 37.38' N. lat., 135° 27' W. long.

(g) Herring for placement in a closed herring spawn-on-kelp pound may be captured only with power seines or hand purse seines and may only be transferred to a closed pounds in

(1) Section 3-B after 12:00 noon, March 17 until 12:00 noon, May 10, unless closed earlier by emergency order;

(2) District 7 after 12:00 noon, April 1 until 12:00 noon, May 10, unless closed earlier by emergency order;

(3) Section 12-A after 12:00 noon, April 6 until 12:00 noon, May 15, unless closed earlier by emergency order; and

(4) Section 13-C after 12:00 noon, April 6 until 12:00 noon, May 15, unless closed earlier by emergency order.

(h) In Section 3-B, the harvest limit for the bait fisheries is 60 percent of the guideline harvest level for the Craig/Klawock herring stock, and the harvest limit for the spawn-on-kelp pound fishery is 40 percent of that guideline harvest level. Any portion of the harvest limit not taken by the bait fishery during a calendar year may be taken by the pound fishery during that year.

(i) In District 7, the harvest limit for the spawn-on-kelp pound fishery is the amount of any annual guideline harvest level for the Ernest Sound herring stock that is not harvested by the bait fisheries. If the remaining guideline harvest level is less than 50 tons, there will be no spawn-on-kelp pound fishery.

(j) Section 12-A, the harvest limit for the spawn-on-kelp pound fishery is the amount of any annual guideline harvest level for the Tenakee Inlet herring stock that is not harvested by the bait fisheries. If the unharvested portion of the guideline harvest level is less than 50 tons, there will be no spawn-on-kelp pound fishery.

(k) Spawn-on-kelp pound structures and other equipment used in a spawn-on-kelp pound fishery must be marked as follows:

(1) before kelp or herring are added to a pound, a permit holder must plainly and legibly mark the permit holder's first and last name and five-digit CFEC permit number in a conspicuous place on the pound; the sign must be vertical, and the markings must be clearly visible and above the surface of the water at all times; the letters and numbers used to identify a pound must be at least six inches high with lines at least one-half inch wide and must contrast with the background; if a pound is being operated as a multiple-permit pound, the first and last names and five-digit CFEC permit numbers of all permit holders operating the pound must be placed on a single sign; the sign must be left on the pound structure or the webbing support system the entire time any part of the pound or pound system is in the water;

(2) all floats and floating objects used in support of the fishery must be plainly and legibly marked with a CFEC permit number of a participating permit holder as specified in (1) of this subsection; all floats and floating objects must be permanently marked and clearly visible above the surface of the water at all times.

(l) A permit holder using a tow pound for transporting herring to a closed pound must permanently affix a horizontal sign stating "Tow Pound" and a CFEC permit number of a participating permit holder to the top surface of the tow pound. The letters must be at least six inches high with lines at least one-half inch wide and must contrast with the background. A permit holder may introduce herring into a tow pound multiple times before transferring the herring to a spawn-on-kelp pound.

(m) A permit holder may place the permit holder's kelp in no more than one pound. Before kelp is introduced into the spawn-on-kelp pound, a permit holder must store the kelp in a manner that prevents herring from spawning on the kelp.

(n) On a line or structure used to suspend kelp, a permit holder shall affix a legible tag showing above the water surface that states the number of blades or fronds on that line or structure and that states the permit holder's first and last name. In a multiple-permit pound, each permit holder must keep that permit holder's kelp on lines or structures separate from lines or structures that support kelp belonging to other permit holders.

(o) A permit holder must be physically present at the permit holder's pound fishing site during operation of the pound. For the purpose of this subsection, "operation of the pound" means

(1) repealed 4/24/2009;

(2) when herring is being captured and transferred into a closed pound;

(3) when an open pound is being moved; and

(4) when kelp product is being collected from the pound.

(p) A permit holder must be physically present when the permit holder's herring spawn-on-kelp product produced in a pound is being sold.

(q) A permit holder may transfer additional herring into a closed pound, only until herring have been released or product has been harvested from the pound. After herring have been released or product has been harvested from a pound, a permit holder using that pound may not fish for herring or add kelp to the pound. A permit holder may not transfer herring into a pound after 11:59 p.m. on the fourth day after herring are placed into the pound, with the first day being the day that herring are first placed into the pound. If the commissioner determines it is necessary for the conservation of herring stocks, the commissioner may, by emergency order, restrict the placement of herring into pounds.

(r) Permit holders operating two separate closed pounds must register with the department before connecting the permit holders' pounds. No more than two pounds may be connected into a combined structure. After the permit holders have connected two pounds, the permit holders may transfer additional herring into the combined pound. The four-day herring transfer period, as described in (g) of this section, begins on the first day herring are placed into either of the connected closed pounds. After two pounds are connected under this subsection, the permit holders may drop the wall between the pounds no more than three feet from the surface of the water so that herring may swim between the connected pounds..

(s) A permit holder may not retain herring in a closed pound for more than seven days and must release the herring by 12:00 noon on the seventh day, with the first day being the day that herring are first placed into the pound. When releasing herring, a permit holder must lower at least one full side of a pound's webbing at least two feet below the surface of the water to allow herring to escape.

(t) After a permit holder releases herring and harvests product from the pound, the permit holder must maintain the pound and webbing in place for at least four weeks. To optimize hatching success the permit holder must position egg-covered webbing in the original size and configuration of the pound structure with adequate water circulation on all sides. The webbing support system must be above the surface of the water and clearly marked as specified in (k) of this section.

(u) A permit holder must release all herring from a pound operated by that permit holder. A permit holder may not retain and use herring that has been introduced into a pound as bait for commercial use, sport use, personal use, or subsistence use.

(v) After notifying the department, a permit holder may release herring from a closed pound and fish the pound as an open pound. All webbing on the closed pound must be removed. The permit holder will not be entitled to additional kelp and may operate the pound only as an open pound for the remainder of the season.

(w) A permit holder shall completely remove all pounds and associated equipment from the waters in

(1) Section 3-B by 12:00 noon May 31 through March 1 of the following year;

(2) District 7 by 12:00 noon May 31 through March 1 of the following year;

(3) Section 12-A by 12:00 noon June 10 through March 1 of the following year;

(4) Section 13-C by 12:00 noon June 10 through March 1 of the following year.

(x) A CFEC permit holder operating a multiple-permit pound is subject to liability if the pound, at any time, contains more than the legal amount of kelp.

(y) Spawn-on-kelp blades or fronds belonging to a permit holder must be kept separate from spawn-on-kelp blades or fronds belonging to another permit holder until all spawn on kelp from a pound has been weighed and graded.

(z) A closed pound is considered to be fishing once herring have been introduced into the closed pound structure and is considered to have stopped fishing once all herring have been released and all of the spawn-on-kelp product has been removed from the closed pound structure.

(aa) An open pound is considered to be fishing once kelp has been attached to the open pound structure and is considered to have stopped fishing once all of the spawn-on-kelp product has been removed from the open pound structure.

(bb) Each permit holder is responsible for all operations of the pound and pound system.

(cc) Two closed pounds as specified in 5 AAC 27.130(e) may be combined into one single closed pound structure and operated by multiple permit holders only when kelp is at the maximum allocation. The combined pound may have a maximum surface area of 800 square feet with a maximum depth level of 30 feet. The kelp allocations per permit holder and other provisions specified in this section also apply to the combined pound; however, permit holders may transfer additional herring into the combined single closed pound structure after the two closed pounds are connected and combined into a single structure. A CFEC permit holder who intends to operate a combined pound must register with the department before placing the pound in the water. This pound structure may not be connected to any other pound structure.

(dd) In this section,

(1) "fronds" means the kelp stipe and naturally attached blades;

(2) "multiple-permit pound" includes,

(A) for a closed pound, a

(i) double-permit closed pound;

(ii) triple-permit closed pound; and

(iii) quadruple-permit or more closed pound; and

(B) for an open pound, a multiple-permit open pound.

Notes

5 AAC 27.185

Eff. 6/25/89, Register 110; am 4/30/91, Register 118; am 4/23/94, Register 130; am 1/29/98, Register 145; am 9/10/2000, Register 155; am 3/11/2001, Register 157; am 4/24/2003, Register 166; am 4/2/2006, Register 177; am 4/24/2009, Register 190; am 7/13/2012, Register 203; am 7/1/2015, Register 214, July 2015; am 6/17/2018,Register 226, July 2018

Authority:AS 16.05.060

AS 16.05.251