1. (a) Upon receipt of notice from a court, the commission will immediately assess demerit points against a person for each conviction of a commercial fishing law designated in AS 16.43.850(b) or a regulation adopted under the statutes designated in AS 16.43.850(b), including a strict liability or misdemeanor violation involving commercial salmon fishing, described as follows:

   1. (1) fishing in closed waters, including regulations that prohibit salmon fishing in a specified area;
   2. (2) fishing during closed season or period, including regulations that prohibit salmon fishing during specific dates or times;
   3. (3) fishing with more than the legal amount of gear, including regulations that restrict the size or quantity of fishing gear that may be used in a salmon fishery;

   4. (4) fishing with gear not allowed in fishery, including

      1. (A) regulations that govern the gear type that may be used in a salmon fishery;
      2. (B) regulations that govern the physical characteristics of gear that may be used in a salmon fishery, including the type of mesh or filament that may be used in salmon fishing nets; and
      3. (C) regulations that prohibit or limit the use of fish traps, airplanes, lights, explosives, chemicals, drums, reels, or other instrumentalities in salmon fisheries.
   5. (5) fishing before expiration of transfer period, including regulations that prohibit the operation of gear before the approval and processing of a transfer request by the commission if the violation occurred while participating in a salmon fishery;
   6. (6) interfering with commercial fishing gear, including regulations that prohibit physical disturbance of or damage to the fishing gear of another salmon fisherman;
   7. (7) fishing with more than the legal amount of gear on vessel, including regulations that restrict the amount of fishing gear that is permitted to be aboard a vessel used in a salmon fishery;

   8. (8) improper operation of fishing gear; a violation of regulations for improper operation of fishing gear

      1. (A) includes regulations that govern the proper deployment, operation, use, or movement of salmon fishing gear in water, including the improper use of a vessel to drive or direct fish;
      2. (B) does not include regulations that govern possession of personal identification, marking of fishing gear, or vessel or gear registration except as it applies to area registration requirements;
   9. (9) permit holder not present when required, including regulations that require the physical presence of one or more limited entry permit holders to operate gear in a salmon fishery;
   10. (10) fishing with underlength or overlength vessel, including regulations that govern the minimum or maximum length of a vessel that may be used in a salmon fishery; and
   11. (11) wanton waste of fishery resources, including regulations that require utilization of the majority of a salmon carcass.
2. (b) The number of demerit points to be assessed for each conviction will be determined according to the point schedule in AS 16.43.850(b).
3. (c) Notwithstanding (b) of this section, if a conviction meets the requirements described in AS 16.43.850(c) for a first conviction, the number of demerit points to be assessed will be reduced by one-half. If a person receives two or more convictions on the same day and each conviction meets the requirements described in AS 16.43.850(c), each conviction is a first conviction and the number of demerit points for each conviction will be assessed at the one-half rate. A prior conviction that did not result in an assessment of demerit points against the person for whatever reason does not count as a first conviction for the purpose of this subsection.
4. (d) Demerit points are assessed as of the date of conviction, as determined by the date of entry of judgment, and apply against the person in the specific salmon fishery associated with the conviction that gave rise to the points. Demerit points remain assessed in the same amount for a continuous 36-month period following the date of the conviction that gave rise to the assessment, unless the conviction is vacated or reversed on appeal. However, suspension, modification, discharge, removal, or expiration of a sentence that arose from a conviction or the setting aside of a conviction under AS 12.55.085(e) does not remove or reduce demerit points assessed against a person under this section. At the end of a 36-month period following the date of conviction, the demerit points automatically expire. However, an expiration of demerit points does not alter the duration of a suspension that was imposed under AS 16.43.850(d).
5. (e) If a person permanently transfers a permit for a fishery in which the person has active demerit points or is suspended under AS 16.43.850(d), the points remain assessed against the transferor and do not pass on to the transferee. A person who has active demerit points but is not suspended may acquire a new permit in the fishery; points that are generated while holding the new permit will be added to the person's previously accumulated points in the fishery for calculations described in AS 16.43.850(d).
6. (f) If a person is granted an emergency transfer of a permit and the transferee's conduct during the period of the emergency transfer generates an assessment of demerit points, the transferee and transferor will be assessed the same number of demerit points. If the transferee qualifies for the one-half point reduction described in (c) of this section but the transferor does not, both the transferee and transferor's points will be reduced under that provision. However, if the transferor qualifies for the one-half point reduction described in (c) of this section but the transferee does not, the transferor's points will be reduced under that provision and the transferee's points will not be reduced.
7. (g) The provisions of 20 AAC 05.1800 - 20 AAC 05.1865 apply to administrative hearings and adjudications following the assessment of demerit points. The commission will not review or adjudicate the validity of a conviction, sentence, or court order pertaining to a violation of a commercial fishing law.

(Eff. 3/26/2021, Register 237)