Southeast Alaska King Salmon Regulations For 2020 (Update)

(Juneau) – The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is reminding anglers that the 2020 sport fishing regulations for king salmon in Southeast Alaska and Yakutat remain unchanged except that the resident bag limit of two king salmon has expired and the bag limit for all anglers is one king salmon. The following regulations will be effective 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, January 1, 2020:

• Alaskan Resident (All Southeast Marine Waters)
  • The resident bag and possession limit is one king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length.

• Nonresident
  • The nonresident bag and possession limit is one king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length;
  • From January 1 through June 30, the annual limit is three king salmon 28 inches or greater in length;
  • From July 1 through December 31, the annual limit is one king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length, and any king salmon harvested from January 1 through June 30 will apply toward the one fish annual limit;
  • Immediately upon landing and retaining a king salmon a nonresident must enter the species, date and location, in ink, on the back of their sport fishing license or on a nontransferable harvest record.

Under the Southeast Alaska King Salmon Management Plan regional king salmon sport fish bag and possession limits and any other management measures are based upon the Southeast Alaska Winter Troll CPUE. As mandated by the plan, king salmon regulations will be based on the previous Southeast Alaska Winter Troll CPUE until the current years Southeast Alaska Winter Troll CPUE is finalized. Since the 2020 Southeast Alaska Winter Troll CPUE will not be finalized until later in 2020, Southeast Alaska sport fish king salmon regulations will be set using the 2019 Southeast Alaska Winter Troll CPUE until the 2020 Southeast Alaska Winter Troll CPUE is available. Once the 2020 Southeast Alaska Winter Troll CPUE is finalized the department will announce regulatory changes mandated by the plan.

For further information regarding sport fisheries in Southeast Alaska, contact the nearest ADF&G office or visit: www.adfg.alaska.gov/sf/EONR/index.cfm?ADFG=area.R1

(Juneau) – The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced today that the sport and personal use (PU) pot shrimp fisheries in the Juneau area will remain closed until further notice. The closed area consists of all marine waters of Section 11-A (see attached map) north and west of a line extending from a regulatory marker near Point Bishop at 58^o 12.32′ N. lat., 134^o 10.14′ W long., to the Coast Guard marker and light on Point Arden at 58^o 09.55′ N. lat., 134^o 10.68′ W. long., south of the latitude of Little Island Light at 58^o 32.41′ N. lat., and east of a line from Little Island Light to Point Retreat Light.

Due to declining commercial fishery catch per unit of effort (CPUE) indicating low spot shrimp abundance in Section 11-A, the commercial, sport, and personal use fisheries were closed July 1, 2013 to allow the shrimp population in this area to rebuild. Creel census data from 2003–2007 indicated that the PU/sport fishery harvests were approximately equal to commercial harvests during this time. Therefore, closure of all pot fisheries that harvest spot shrimp in this area are necessary to rebuild the population.

The intention of these closures is to allow spot shrimp abundance to rebound to a sustainable level. The department will continue to monitor the Section 11-A shrimp resource. The personal use and sport pot fisheries will remain closed until data indicates spot shrimp abundance can again sustain harvests.

The department has conducted surveys of the area in the 2017/2018, 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 seasons to gather data on spot shrimp abundance, and there is not a harvestable surplus available.

Sport and personal use pot shrimp fishing closed (dark shaded area) in Juneau Section 11-A for 2020.

For additional information, please contact Area Management Biologist Daniel Teske at (907) 465-8152.

(Juneau) – Today the Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced that the retention of nonpelagic rockfish will be prohibited during 2020. The following regulations are effective 12:01 a.m. January 1, 2020 through January 31, 2021:

All Southeast Waters

• No retention of nonpelagic rockfish.
• All vessels must have at least one functional deepwater release mechanism on board and readily available for use when sport fishing activities are taking place. Persons sport fishing in marine waters when releasing rockfish (pelagic or nonpelagic), must use a deepwater release mechanism to return the fish to the depth it was hooked or to a depth of at least 100 feet.

Despite conservative management action yelloweye rockfish biomass (used as an indicator for all nonpelagic rockfish) has decreased 60% in the last 20 years and potential impacts on the reproductive potential of the population and future recruitment of juvenile rockfish. Nonpelagic rockfish are particularly vulnerable to overexploitation and are slow to recover once fished below sustainable levels given their longevity, slow growth, late maturation, and high site-fidelity, with yelloweye rockfish reaching an estimated maximum age of 122 years and maturing at 18–22 years. Restrictive management actions in the Southeast Alaska nonpelagic rockfish sport fishery need to be taken to ensure the sustainability of these stocks. Mandatory release at depth will ensure that most released nonpelagic rockfish will survive. Based on research studies, the department estimates that proper use of release devices reduces mortality of nonpelagic rockfish by over 95%.

For further information, contact the nearest ADF&G office or visit: https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fishregulations.se_sportfish