1. (a) The Wrangell Narrows-Blind Slough Terminal Harvest Area Salmon Management Plan distributes the harvest of Crystal Lake Hatchery king and coho salmon returns to the terminal harvest area of Wrangell Narrows in Section 6-A south of 56° 46.00' N. lat., and north and east of the northern tip of Woewodski Island at 56° 35.75' N. lat., 132° 59.35' W. long., and the fresh waters of Blind Slough upstream of a line between Blind Point at 56° 38.84' N. lat., 132° 54.94' W. long., and Anchor Point at 56° 38.30' N. lat., 132° 55.67' W. long., among fisheries while protecting hatchery broodstock.
2. (b) The fresh waters from a line between Blind Point and Anchor Point upstream to a line at 56° 37.97' N. lat., 132° 53.47' W. long., to 56° 37.97' N. lat., 132° 53.63' W. long., are open to sport fishing, except as provided in 5 AAC 77.682.
3. (c) The fresh waters upstream from a line at 56° 37.97' N. lat., 132° 53.47' W. long., to 56° 37.97' N. lat., 132° 53.63' W. long., upstream to a line at 56° 36.87' N. lat., 132° 49.40' W. long., to 56° 36.82' N. lat., 132° 49.40' W. long., are closed to sport fishing from May 15 through August 15, unless opened by emergency order.
4. (d) A nonresident king salmon annual limit within the terminal harvest area is twice the nonresident daily bag and possession limit as set out under this section. The nonresident king salmon annual limit within the terminal harvest area does not count against the nonresident king salmon annual limit outside the terminal harvest area established under 5 AAC 47.055(c).

5. (e) The harvest of Crystal Lake Hatchery king salmon in the terminal harvest area will be distributed between the sport and commercial fisheries as follows:

   1. (1) when the projected adult return of king salmon to the terminal harvest area is below 1,000 fish, sport and commercial salmon fisheries in the terminal harvest area will be closed to king salmon from May 15 through August 15;
   2. (2) when the projected adult return of king salmon to the terminal harvest area is at least 1,000 but less than 2,000 fish, the commissioner shall open, by emergency order, the season for the terminal harvest area of Wrangell Narrows to sport fishing for king salmon with a resident daily bag and possession limit of one king salmon of any length and a nonresident daily bag and possession limit of one king salmon of any length from May 15 through August 15, during which time the terminal harvest area commercial salmon fishery in Wrangell Narrows will be closed; Blind Slough will be open to residents only with a daily bag and possession limit of one king salmon of any length from May 15 through August 15;
   3. (3) when the projected adult return of king salmon to the terminal harvest area is at least 2,000 but less than 3,000 fish, the commissioner shall open, by emergency order, the season for the terminal harvest area to sport fishing for king salmon with a resident daily bag and possession limit of two king salmon of any length and a nonresident daily bag and possession limit of one king salmon of any length from May 15 through August 15, during which time the commercial salmon fishery in the terminal harvest area of Wrangell Narrows will be closed; Blind Slough will be open to the sport fishery with a resident daily bag and possession limit of two king salmon of any length and a nonresident daily bag and possession limit of one king salmon of any length from May 15 through August 15;
   4. (4) when the projected adult return of king salmon to the terminal harvest area is at least 3,000 but less than 4,000 fish, the commissioner shall open, by emergency order, the terminal harvest area of Wrangell Narrows to sport fishing for king salmon with a resident daily bag and possession limit of three king salmon of any length and a nonresident daily bag and possession limit of two king salmon of any length from May 15 through August 15, during which time the commercial salmon fishery in the terminal harvest area in Wrangell Narrows will be closed; Blind Slough will be open to the sport fishery with a resident daily bag and possession limit of three king salmon of any length and a nonresident daily bag and possession limit of two king salmon of any length from May 15 through August 15;
   5. (5) when the projected adult return of king salmon to the terminal harvest area is more than 4,000 fish, the commissioner shall open, by emergency order, the season for the terminal harvest area of Wrangell Narrows and Blind Slough to sport fishing for king salmon with a resident daily bag and possession limit of four king salmon of any length and a nonresident daily bag and possession limit of three king salmon of any length from May 15 through August 15, during which time the commercial fishery in the terminal harvest area of Wrangell Narrows will be opened to harvest 50 percent of the projected return over 4,000 fish; Blind Slough will be open to the sport fishery with a resident daily bag and possession limit of four king salmon of any length and a nonresident daily bag and possession limit of three king salmon of any length from May 15 through August 15.
6. (f) An angler that has harvested the daily bag limit from either the fresh or marine waters of the terminal harvest area may not take a king salmon from the other area of the terminal harvest in the same day.
7. (g) The department may close the sport fishery during periods of drought and warm water conditions to reduce stress on king salmon holding in Blind Slough.

8. (h) The department may, in the absence of broodstock concerns, increase harvest opportunity through one or more of the following actions:

   1. (1) opening the closed area in the freshwater upstream from a line at 56° 37.97' N. lat., 132° 53.47' W. long., to 56° 37.97' N. lat., 132° 53.63' W. long., upstream to a line at 56° 36.87' N. lat., 132° 49.40' W. long., to 56° 36.82' N. lat., 132° 49.40' W. long., from May 15 through August 15;
   2. (2) increasing daily bag and possession limits;
   3. (3) removing annual nonresident limits;
   4. (4) extending the dates of the management plan.

9. (i) The commissioner shall open and close, by emergency order, fishing seasons and periods to manage the return of coho salmon to

   1. (1) assure adequate returns of hatchery broodstock;
   2. (2) provide the sport fishery priority over the commercial harvest; the commissioner may allow the sport fishery to exceed over time the historical take of 20 percent of the returning harvest;
   3. (3) provide the personal use fishery priority over the commercial harvest; the commissioner may allow the personal use fishery to exceed over time the historical take of five percent of the returning harvest; in the waters described in (a) of this section that are open to personal use coho salmon fishing under a personal use salmon fishing permit issued under 5 AAC 77.682, the possession and annual limit is 25 coho salmon; and
   4. (4) provide fishing periods for coho salmon to allow a commercial harvest of up to 75 percent of the returning coho salmon based on the department's determination that the harvest is consistent with the priority of satisfying the sport and personal use fisheries' demand.
10. (j) Due to harvest objectives in the terminal harvest area, the waters of Frederick Sound east of a line from Boulder Point to Point Highland are closed to commercial salmon fishing from April 16 through May 31, except that if there is an allowable catch for Stikine River king salmon, the commissioner may open fishing periods in the waters of Frederick Sound east of a line from Beacon Point to Wood Point as specified in 5 AAC 33.368.

(Eff. 6/28/97, Register 142; 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 6/5/2016, Register 218; am 11/10/2024, Register 252; am 6/27/2025, Register 254)

Authority: AS 16.05.060, AS 16.05.251, AS 16.10.455