5 AAC 28.648 - Dutch Harbor Subdistrict Pacific Cod Management Plan

(a) This management plan governs the harvest of Pacific cod in the Dutch Harbor Subdistrict. For the purposes of this section, the Dutch Harbor Subdistrict is comprised of the state waters in the Aleutian Islands District east of 170° W. long.j and the state waters of the Bering Sea District that are west of 162° 30.00'W. long., east of 170° W. long., and south of 55° 30.00' N. lat, except that the waters of the Dutch Harbor Subdistrict south of 53° 06.11' N. lat. are closed to taking Pacific cod during a state-waters season.

(b) Each year the commissioner shall open and close, by emergency order, a parallel season in the Dutch Harbor Subdistrict during which the use of gear allowed in the federal season for Pacific cod in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area is permitted, unless that gear is prohibited under 5 AAC 28.050 or 5 AAC 28.629.

(c) Each year the commissioner shall open and close by emergency order, a state-waters season in the Dutch Harbor Subdistrict for pot gear and mechanical jigging machines. For the purposes of this section, when a state-waters season for Pacific cod for pot gear or mechanical jigging machines is open, the parallel season for the applicable gear type is closed for vessels that are 58 feet or less in overall length. The commissioner shall close the state-waters season by emergency order when the guideline harvest level is achieved or December 31, whichever occurs first.

(d) The state-waters season shall open as follows:

(1) for pot gear, at 12:00 noon seven days following the closure of the initial season for the federal Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands hook-and-line and pot catcher vessel less than 60 feet in overall length sector.

(2) for mechanical jigging machines, on May 1.

(e) During a state-waters season,

(1) the guideline harvest level for Pacific cod in the Dutch Harbor Subdistrict is

(A) for pot gear in 2023,12 percent of the estimated total allowable harvest of Pacific cod for the federal Bering Sea Subarea; if the guideline harvest level established under this subparagraph is achieved during two consecutive calendar years, the guideline harvest level will increase by one percent of the estimated total allowable harvest beginning the subsequent calendar year; a guideline harvest level established under this subparagraph

(i) may not exceed 15 percent of the estimated total allowable harvest of Pacific cod for the federal Bering Sea Subarea;

(ii) f not achieved during two consecutive calendar years will be reduced by one percent of the estimated total allowable harvest of Pacific cod for the federal Bering Sea Subarea beginning the subsequent calendar year, but may not be reduced below 10 percent of the estimated total allowable harvest; and

(iii) is considered to have been achieved if, by November 15, 90 percent of that guideline harvest level is projected to be harvested by the end of that calendar year; and

(B) for mechanical jigging machines, 100,000 pounds of the estimated total allowable harvest of Pacific cod for the federal Bering Sea Subarea:

(2) Pacific cod may be taken only with groundfish pots and mechanical jigging machines as follows:

(A) exept as provided in (h) of this section no more than

(i) 60 groundfish pots may be operated from a vessel registered to fish for Pacific cod;

(ii) 5 mechanical jigging machines may be operated from a vessel registered to fish for Pacific cod;

(B) in addition to the requirements of 5 AAC 28.020, a vessel must be registered to fish;

(C) a vessel registered to take Pacific cod may not be longer than 58 feet in overall length;

(D) during the seven days immediately following the opening of the state-waters season, an operator of a vessel registered to fish for Pacific cod may store or transport groundfish pots in excess of the pot limit established in (A) of this paragraph if the pots are

(i) stored in waters not more than 25 fathoms deep as specified in 5 AAC 28.632; or

(ii) are being transported on board the vessel and are not marked with identification tags.

(f) The commissioner may open and close, by emergency order, fishing seasons at times other than those specified in this section if the commissioner determines it is necessary to

(1) adapt to unanticipated openings and closures of the federal season;

(2) maintain sustained yield management; or

(3) provide for orderly fisheries.

(g) The Dutch Harbor Subdistrict is

(1) an exclusive registration area for a vessel validly registered to take Pacific cod with not gear: and

(2) a nonexclusive registration area for a vessel validly registered to take Pacific cod with mechanical jigging machines.

(h) If at any time after October 1 the commissioner determines that the guideline harvest level for Pacific cod will not be achieved by December 31, the commissioner may close, by emergency order, the fishing season and immediately reopen a state-waters season during which the following shall be implemented to increase the harvest rate in an attempt to reach the guideline harvest level:

(1) removal of the limits on the number of pots and mechanical jigging machines that may be operated from a vessel;

(2) if needed, designation of the Dutch Harbor Subdistrict as a nonexclusive registration area for Pacific cod;

(3) if needed, allow a vessel of any size to register and fish for Pacific cod in the Dutch Harbor Subdistrict;

(4) if the season is closed and immediately reopened under this subsection, a vessel participating in the state-waters season when it was closed will not be required to comply with landing requirements until the season is closed again.

(i) If the season is closed and immediately reopened under (f) of this section, a vessel operator participating in the state-waters season when it was closed may not have Pacific cod on board the vessel after 48 hours after the closure, unless the vessel has been delayed due to extraordinary circumstances beyond the control of the vessel operator, and the vessel operator has contacted a local representative of the department not later than 48 hours following the closure of the season and the representative has granted a reasonable amount of time for the vessel to reach the port of delivery or processing location. Any amount of additional time shall be determined under the assumption that the vessel departed the fishing grounds immediately after the closure and proceeded directly to the port of delivery or processing location.

(j) In the state-waters season, a vessel owner or operator using pot gear must report, as specified in the registration form, to the local representative of the department by telephone, electronic mail, or radio

(1) the number of pot lifts from the vessel in the previous 24-hour reporting period;

(2) the number of pounds of Pacific cod retained on the vessel during the previous 24-hour period; and

(3) any other information that the commissioner determines is necessary for the management and conservation of the fishery.

(k) If a state-waters season and federal season for Pacific cod are open concurrently for a different gear type,

(1) a vessel may not participate in a state-waters season and any other Pacific cod season at the same time;

(2) a vessel's registration for the state-waters season in the Dutch Harbor Subdistrict must be invalidated before that vessel may participate in any other Pacific cod season;

(3) registration for a state-waters season may occur only in person, or by facsimile transmission or electronic mail, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on a working day at a department office designated by the department; and

(4) all groundfish on board a vessel must be landed before that vessel may have the vessel's registration invalidated or be registered for a state-waters season for Pacific cod outside the Dutch Harbor Subdistrict.

(l) The federal fishery management measures for the protection of Steller sea lions are imposed as specified for the Bering Sea Area in Table 5 to 50 C.F.R. 679, as defined in 79 Federal Register 70286-70338, November 25, 2014, and as specified in Table 12 to 50 C.F.R., Part 679 , as defined in 75 Federal Register 81921-81941, December 29, 2010, except that the following Steller sea lion haulouts listed in Table 5 are closed to the taking of Pacific cod within three nautical miles:

(1) Umnak Island/Cape Aslik at 53° 25.00' N. lat., 68° 24.50' W. long.;

(2) Uliaga at 53° 04.00' N. lat., 169° 47.00' W. long. to 53° 05.00' N. lat., 169° 46.00' W. long.;

(3) Kagamil at 53° 02.10' N. lat., 169° 41.00' W. long.

Notes

5 AAC 28.648

Eff. 2/23/2014, Register 209, April 2014; am 2/28/2016, Register 217, April 2016; am 2/21/2019,Register 229, April 2019; am 3/26/2023, Register 245, April 2023

Authority: AS 16.05.060

AS 16.05.251