Section 5 AAC 35.113 - Registration Area A Tanner crab harvest strategy(a) In Registration Area A, the minimum stock threshold for a commercial Tanner crab fishery is 2, 300,000 pounds of mature male Tanner crab, measured by one-half of the long-term average (1997 - 2007) of mature male abundance. If the estimated abundance of mature male Tanner crab is below 2,300,000 pounds, the commercial Tanner crab fishery will remain closed.(b) The department shall manage the commercial Tanner crab fishery under a harvest strategy in which the commissioner, by emergency order, opens and closes fishing periods as follows: (1) the initial period of the commercial Tanner crab fishing season in the core areas noncore areas, inside exploratory areas, and outside exploratory area will be at least five days in length, and may be increased with additional fishing days allowed based on the estimated biomass of mature male crab and the number of registered pots at the start of the fishery, as follows: Pots registered | Additional fishing days |
| If the mature biomass is at least 2, 300,000 pounds, but less than 5, 500,000 pounds | If the mature biomass is 5, 500,000 pounds or greater |
1, 600 - 2, 399 | 4 additional days | 5 additional days |
2, 400 - 3, 199 | 3 additional days | 4 additional days |
3, 200 - 3, 999 | 2 additional days | 3 additional days |
4,000 - 5, 599 | 1 additional day | 2 additional days |
5, 600 - 7,000 | 0 additional days | 1 additional day |
(2) at the end of the initial period, the core areas will close to fishing, and the noncore, inside exploratory areas, and outside exploratory areas will remain open for an additional five days; after the noncore areas close to fishing, the inside exploratory areas and outside exploratory areas will remain open for an additional fourteen days; after the inside exploratory areas close to fishing, the outside exploratory areas will remain open through March 31.(c) For the purposes of this section, (1) "core areas" includes the following waters in Registration Area A: (A) Icy Strait: waters west of a line from Point Sophia to 58º 14.00' N. lat., 135º 16.00' W. long., including the waters of Port Frederick and Excursion Inlet, and waters east of Section 14-A, including the waters of Glacier Bay not closed by the National Park Service;(B) St. James Bay: waters west of a line from Point Whidbey to 58º 33.00' N. lat., 135º 09.60' W. long.;(C) District 15: waters east of a line from the north tip of Little Island to Point St. Mary, including Berners Bay;(D) Section 11-A: waters of Section 11-A in Stephens Passage;(E) Section 11-B: waters north of line from Point Arden to Circle Point and east of a line from Point Arden to Point Bishop, including all waters of Taku Inlet;(F) Seymour Canal: waters north of 57º 37.00' N. lat.;(G) Port Snettisham: waters east and north of a line from Point Styleman to Point Anmer;(H) Endicott Arm and Tracy Arm: waters east of a line from Point Coke to Point Astley;(I) Gambier Bay: waters west of a line from Point Gambier to 57º 24.90' N. lat., 133º 53.00' W. long.;(J) Pybus Bay: waters north and west of a line from Point Pybus to the easternmost tip of San Juan Island to a point at 57º 14.60' N. lat., 134º 07.30' W. long.;(K) Section 13-C, excluding Sitkoh Bay;(L) Keku Strait, Port Camden and associated bays: waters southeast of a line from Cornwallis Point at 56º 55.91' N. lat., 134º 16.42' W. long. to Point McCartney at 57º 01.49' N. lat., 134º 03.51' W. long. and west of a line from Point Camden at 56º 48.66' N. lat., 133º 52.79' W. long. to Salt Point Light at 56º 50.68' N. lat., 133º 52.02' W. long.;(M) Frederick Sound: waters east of a line from Bay Point to Boulder Point including Farragut Bay, Thomas Bay, Section 8-A, and Section 8-B, and north and east of a line from Mitchell Point to Point St. John, including Kah Sheets Bay, Duncan Canal, and Wrangell Narrows;(2) "noncore areas" includes all waters of Alaska in those portions of districts in Registration Area A that are not described in (1) and (4) of this subsection.(3) "outside exploratory areas" includes all waters of Registration Area A in the exclusive economic zone.(4) "inside exploratory areas" includes all waters of Registration Area A within Districts 1, 2, 3, and 4 as described in 5 AAC 33.200.Eff. 7/29/2009, Register 191; am 6/17/2018, Register 226, July 2018; am 9/24/2021, Register 239, October 2021; am 9/25/2022, Register 243, October 2022Authority:AS 16.05.060
AS 16.05.251