5 AAC 34.053 - Operation of other pot gear

Unless otherwise specified in 5 AAC 31 - 5 AAC 38,

(1) a person or vessel that operates commercial, subsistence, personal use, or sport pots, during the 14 days immediately before the opening of a commercial king crab season in a king crab registration area, may not participate in the commercial king crab fishery in the king crab registration area or, with respect to Registration Area Q, in that district or section of Registration Area Q, where the fishing with pots occurred, except that a person or vessel is not disqualified from the commercial king crab fishery by placing king crab pots with bait and bait containers removed and with the doors secured open in waters that are 25 fathoms or less in depth or as otherwise specified in 5 AAC 34; a person or vessel that participates in a commercial king crab fishery in a king crab registration area or, with respect to Registration Area Q, in that district or section of Registration Area Q where the fishing with pots occurred, may not operate commercial, subsistence, sport, or personal use pots in that registration area during the 14 days after the close of the commercial king crab season; a vessel or person may operate commercial, subsistence, sport, or personal use pots in a king crab registration area after putting king crab pots in storage, as specified in 5 AAC 34.052, and, unless the registration is already invalidated under 5 AAC 34.020(k), after invalidating the vessel's king crab registration by contacting, in person, a local representative of the department;

(2) during a commercial king crab fishery, a person or vessel validly registered for that fishery may not operate commercial, subsistence, sport, or personal use pots other than commercial king crab pots, except that a person or vessel may stop participating in the commercial king crab fishery and instead operate commercial pots other than king crab pots if

(A) the king crab pots are put in storage as specified in 5 AAC 34.052; and

(B) the vessel owner, or the owner's agent, contacts a representative of the department, in person, and requests that the king crab registration be invalidated.

Notes

5 AAC 34.053

Eff. 11/6/96, Register 140; am 12/26/97, Register 144; am 9/30/99, Register 151; am 8/24/2002, Register 163

Authority:AS 16.05.251

AS 16.05.258