1. (a) In this chapter, a spring salmon troll fishery means a fishery that is

   1. (1) opened and closed by emergency order;
   2. (2) restricted in area;
   3. (3) designated by number so that each opening in a specific body of water is uniquely identified for catch reporting purposes.
2. (b) The department shall manage the spring salmon troll fisheries to target Alaska hatchery-produced king salmon.
3. (c) The department shall conduct the spring salmon troll fisheries each year before the opening of the general summer salmon troll season.

4. (d) In its management of the spring fisheries under this section, the department shall

   1. (1) first consider changes in the previous years' spring fisheries; the department shall open the fisheries if they meet the following requirements:

      1. (A) a directed fishery may occur only if an Alaska hatchery return is expected to exceed broodstock requirements;
      2. (B) at least one spring fishery shall be conducted annually, targeting the king salmon returning to each Alaska hatchery that meets its broodstock requirements;
      3. (C) in order to continue the fishery each year without modification of areas previously established, the contribution rate of Alaska hatchery-produced salmon stocks to the directed fishery harvest must exceed 20 percent;

      4. (D) the department shall manage each spring salmon troll fishery as follows:

         1. (i) no more than 1,000 non-Alaska hatchery-produced salmon may be taken in a fishery if the percentage of Alaska hatchery-produced salmon taken in that fishery is less than 25 percent of the king salmon taken in that fishery;
         2. (ii) no more than 2,000 non-Alaska hatchery-produced salmon may be taken in a fishery if the percentage of Alaska hatchery-produced salmon taken in that fishery is at least 25 percent but less than 35 percent of the king salmon taken in that fishery;
         3. (iii) no more than 3,000 non-Alaska hatchery-produced salmon may be taken in a fishery if the percentage of Alaska hatchery-produced salmon taken in that fishery is at least 35 percent but less than 50 percent of the king salmon taken in that fishery;
         4. (iv) no more than 5,000 non-Alaska hatchery-produced salmon may be taken in a fishery if the percentage of Alaska hatchery-produced salmon taken in that fishery is at least 50 percent but less than 66 percent of the king salmon taken in that fishery;
         5. (v) there is no limit on the number of non-Alaska hatchery-produced salmon that may be taken in a fishery if the percentage of Alaska hatchery-produced salmon taken in that fishery is 66 percent or more of the king salmon taken in that fishery;
      5. (E) if the requirements of (A) - (D) of this paragraph are met, the department shall open the spring salmon troll fisheries until no later than one day before the opening of the summer salmon troll fishery;
   2. (2) consider additional fishing periods based on the best scientific data and on input from salmon trollers;

   3. (3) if the preseason king salmon abundance index determined by the Chinook Technical Committee of the Pacific Salmon Commission is at least 1.15 and the amount of the winter troll fishery guideline harvest level remaining on May 1 is 10,000 or more king salmon, apply the following provisions:

      1. (A) if the guideline harvest level remaining is at least 10,000 king salmon but not more than 15,000 king salmon, 250 additional non-Alaska hatchery-produced salmon will be added to the maximum allowable number of non-Alaska hatchery-produced salmon to be taken as provided in (2)(D) of this subsection;
      2. (B) if the guideline harvest level remaining is more than 15,000 king salmon, 500 additional non-Alaska hatchery-produced salmon will be added to the maximum allowable number of non-Alaska hatchery-produced salmon to be taken as provided in (2)(D) of this subsection.
5. (e) Repealed 6/14/2000.
6. (f) Repealed 5/31/2009.
7. (g) Repealed 7/1/2015.
8. (h) Notwithstanding (a) - (d) of this section, in Snow Passage the commissioner may, by emergency order, extend the length of weekly fishing periods during the spring fishery to maximize the harvest of hatchery coho salmon returning to the Neck Lake release site.
9. (i) The commissioner may open, by emergency order, a spring salmon troll fishery for two days per week during May and June in the Yakutat Bay area east of a line from Point Manby at 59° 41.68' N. lat., 140° 19.64' W. long., to a point south of Ocean Cape Light at 59° 32.11' N. lat., 139° 51.32' W. long., with a maximum harvest of 1,000 king salmon.
10. (j) The commissioner may open, by emergency order, a fishing season during which two or more adjacent spring salmon troll fishery areas and those area's harvest caps, as specified in (d)(1)(D) of this section for non-Alaska hatchery salmon, are combined if each of the areas has Alaska hatchery compositions of 25 percent or greater for three or more consecutive seasons.
11. (k) The operator of a salmon troll vessel shall keep the fish caught in each spring fishery separate from any other fish on board the vessel. A fish buyer shall issue a separate fish ticket for fish caught in each spring fishery. If the commissioner determines that a provision of this subsection is frequently violated, the department may require that fish from only one spring fishery be on board a vessel at any one time.
12. (l) A CFEC permit holder that participates in a spring salmon troll fishery must offload all fish from the CFEC permit holder's vessel before participating in the summer salmon troll fishery.

(Eff. 10/1/98, Register 147; am 6/14/2000, Register 154; am 7/26/2003, Register 167; em am 4/13/2005 — 8/10/2005, Register 174; am 5/26/2006, Register 178; am 5/31/2009, Register 190; am 7/1/2015, Register 214; am 11/10/2024, Register 252; am 6/27/2025, Register 254)