5 AAC 34.185 - Lawful gear for Registration Area D

(a) King crab may be taken only with king crab pots. King crab taken by other means must be returned to the water without further harm.

(b) During an open commercial king crab season in those waters north and east of a line from Point Manby to Ocean Cape,

(1) no more than 40 king crab pots may be operated from a vessel registered to fish for king crab;

(2) when the commercial king crab and Tanner crab seasons are open in Registration Area D at the same time, an aggregate of no more than 40 king or Tanner crab pots may be operated from a vessel registered to fish for both king and Tanner crab.

(c) After December 31, 2017, king crab may not be taken with pots that have tunnel eye openings located on the vertical plane of the pot.

(d) In Registration Area D, a registered king crab vessel may not have, at any time in the aggregate, more than the legal limit of gear on board the vessel, in the water in fishing condition, and in the water in nonfishing condition.

(e) A vessel engaged in taking or transporting king crab may not have on board an otter trawl with a ground line or headline longer than 60 feet.

(f) A king crab pot must have either at least the bottom one-third of one vertical surface of a square pot, or sloping sidewall surface of a conical or pyramid pot, composed of not less than nine-inch stretch mesh webbing or have at least four circular escape rings of six and one-quarter inches minimum inside diameter. The lowest edge of each escape ring must be within eight inches of the top of the bottom web bar on the pot. One ring must be installed in each quadrant of the pot. Escape rings or stretch mesh webbing must be so located on the vertical or sloping sidewall surface to permit the escapement of undersize crab.

Notes

5 AAC 34.185

Eff. 12/14/86, Register 100; am 7/23/88, Register 107; am 6/24/93, Register 126; am 11/6/96, Register 140; am 8/14/2005, Register 175; am 5/9/2015, Register 214, July 2015

Authority:AS 16.05.251