Section 5.34.625. Lawful gear for Registration Area O.

	(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)  Pots used to take golden king crab  
		(1) must have at least four circular escape rings of five and one-half inches minimum inside diameter installed on the vertical plane or have at least one-third of one vertical surface of the pot composed of not less than nine-inch stretched mesh webbing to permit the escapement of undersized golden king crab;  
		(2) may be operated only from a shellfish longline; a buoy is not required for each pot, but each end of the longline must be marked by a cluster of four buoys; one buoy in the cluster must be marked in accordance with 5 AAC 34.051 and have the initials "SL" to identify it as a shellfish longline; for purposes of this subsection "a shellfish longline" is a stationary, buoyed, and anchored line with at least 10 shellfish pots attached; and  
		(3) notwithstanding 5 AAC 39.145, may have an opening that is laced, sewn, or secured together by a single length of untreated, 100 percent cotton twine no larger than 60 thread; the cotton twine may be knotted at each end only; the opening must be within six inches of, and parallel with, the bottom of the pot; the cotton twine may not be tied or looped around web bars.  
	(c)  Otter trawls with a ground line or headline exceeding 60 feet in length may not be on board a vessel engaged in the taking or transporting of king crab.  
	(d)  In the Petrel District commercial red king crab fishery in Registration Area O, established by emergency order under 5 AAC 34.610(a), no more than 250 pots may be operated from a validly registered vessel.  
	(e)  Pots used to take red king crab  
		(1) must have at least one-third of one vertical surface of the pot composed of not less than nine-inch stretched mesh webbing to permit the escapement of undersized red king crab; and  
		(2) may not be longlined; each pot must be individually buoyed and marked.  
	(f)  A vessel may be registered to fish in the commercial red king crab and golden king crab fisheries at the same time. However, only single line pots may be operated in areas open to red king crab fishing and only longline pots may be operated in areas open to golden king crab fishing.  
	(g)  In the Adak District commercial red king crab fishery established under 5 AAC 34.610(a)(1),  
		(1) the pot limits are as follows:  
			(A) in the waters of Alaska, no more than 10 pots may be operated from a validly registered vessel;  
			(B) in the waters of the exclusive economic zone, no more than 15 pots may be operated from a validly registered vessel;  
		(2) king crab pot gear may be deployed or retrieved only from 8:00 a.m. until 5:59 p.m. each day.  

Authorities

16.05.251

Notes

Reference

5 AAC 38.052

Authority

AS 16.05.251

History

In effect before 1982; am 7/25/82, Register 83; am 6/30/83, Register 86; am 7/12/86, Register 99; am 9/1/96, Register 139; am 8/8/99, Register 151; am 8/24/2002, Register 163; am 8/14/2005, Register 175; am 7/16/2011, Register 199; am 6/1/2013, Register 206; am 6/27/2014, Register 210