1. (a) The department shall follow the directives of the Bering Sea Herring Management Plan, as well as the regulations that govern the individual herring fisheries, when managing the commercial herring fisheries that take place in the Bering Sea.
2. (b) Unless otherwise specified in this chapter, the department shall manage the fisheries so that the exploitation rate on eastern Bering Sea herring stocks does not exceed 20 percent of the biomass of those stocks.
3. (c) The following thresholds are minimum biomass levels for each herring fishing district. When the department estimates, in season, that the biomass in a district is below its threshold, the department may not allow a commercial harvest of herring in that district. District Thresholds (s.t.) Port Moller . . . . . 1,000Togiak . . . . . 35,000Security Cove . . . . . 1,200Goodnews Bay . . . . . 1,200Cape Avinof . . . . . 500Nelson Island . . . . . 3,000Nunivak Island . . . . . 1,500Cape Romanzof . . . . . 1,500Norton Sound . . . . . 7,000
4. (d) The department shall manage the herring food and bait fishery that takes place in the Unimak, Akutan, and Unalaska Districts and that portion of the Umnak District east of Samalga Pass (Dutch Harbor fishery) so that it is allocated seven percent of the allowable Togiak District herring fishery harvest determined under the provisions of the Bristol Bay Herring Management Plan in 5 AAC 27.865.
5. (e) Repealed 4/7/90.
6. (f) Repealed 4/7/90.
7. (g) When the Togiak District is below its threshold, the Dutch Harbor fishery must be closed for that season.
8. (h) When any of the southwest Alaska herring stocks, from Security Cove to Port Clarence, is below its threshold identified in (c) of this section, the department shall close the Dutch Harbor food and bait herring fishery for that season. For the purpose of determining the need for this closure, the threshold level for the Nelson Island herring stock is 2,000 short tons. If the department determines it necessary to close the Dutch Harbor food and bait herring fishery under this subsection, the department shall not reallocate the herring harvest set for the Dutch Harbor food and bait herring fishery under 5 AAC 27.865(b)(4) to the Togiak District herring fishery.

(Eff. 4/2/88, Register 105; am 4/7/90, Register 114; am 4/2/92, Register 122; am 4/9/92, Register 122; am 6/15/95, Register 134; am 4/16/2016, Register 218)

Authority: AS 16.05.060, AS 16.05.251, AS 16.05.258