Section 5 AAC 39.220 - Policy for the management of mixed stock salmon fisheries(a) In applying this statewide mixed stock salmon policy for all users, conservation of wild salmon stocks consistent with sustained yield shall be accorded the highest priority. Allocation of salmon resources under this policy will be consistent with the subsistence preference in AS 16.05.258, and the allocation criteria set out in 5 AAC 39.205, 5 AAC 75.017, and 5 AAC 77.007.(b) In the absence of a regulatory management plan that otherwise allocates or restricts harvest, and when it is necessary to restrict fisheries on stocks where there are known conservation problems, the burden of conservation shall be shared among all fisheries in close proportion to their respective harvest on the stock of concern. The board recognized that precise sharing of conservation among fisheries is dependent on the amount of stock-specific information available.(c) The board's preference in assigning conservation burdens in mixed stock fisheries is through the application of specific fishery management plans set out in the regulations. A management plan incorporates conservation burden and allocation of harvest opportunity.(d) Most wild Alaska salmon stocks are fully allocated to fisheries capable of harvesting available surpluses. Consequently, the board will restrict new or expanding mixed stock fisheries unless otherwise provided for by management plans or by application of the board's allocation criteria. Natural fluctuations in the abundance of stocks harvested in a fishery will not be the single factor that identifies a fishery as expanding or new.(e) This policy will be implemented only by the board through regulations adopted (1) during its regular meeting cycle; or (2) through procedures established in the Joint Board's Petition Policy (5 AAC 96.625), Subsistence Petition Policy (5 AAC 96.625(f) ), Policy for Changing Board Agenda (5 AAC 39.999), or Subsistence Proposal Policy (5 AAC 96.615).Eff. 5/29/93, Register 126Authority:AS 16.05.251(h)