Southeast Alaska Personal Use Groundfish Fishery
Permits & Regulations

Southeast Alaska and Yakutat Area Personal Use Groundfish Fishery

(updated August 2025)

The following information outlines the State of Alaska personal use groundfish regulations for waters of Alaska in the Southeast Alaska and Yakutat Areas. This is a summary of selected personal use regulations and should be used in conjunction with the current Personal Use Statewide Fisheries Regulations. Refer to the State of Alaska Personal Use Groundfish Area map for information on area designations.

The Southeast Alaska Area consists of all waters of Alaska between Cape Fairweather and Dixon Entrance.

The Yakutat Area includes all waters of Alaska between the longitude of Cape Suckling and the longitude of Cape Fairweather.

"Waters of Alaska" for the Southeast and Yakutat Areas includes the tidal zone of the state from mean higher high water to mean lower low water, and those waters extending three miles seaward of a line (the baseline) between points described in 5 AAC 39.975 (13).

General Personal Use Groundfish Fishery Regulations

  • Personal use fishing is defined as the taking, fishing for, or possession of finfish, shellfish or other fishery resources, by Alaskan residents for personal use and not for sale or barter.
  • Personal use fishing regulations require residents to possess a valid sport fishing license except that a sport fishing license is not required for Alaskan residents:
    • under the age of 16,
    • 60 years of age or older and in possession of an ADF&G permanent identification card. The free senior license can be obtained at a local area ADF&G office or on our Alaska Seniors Licenses webpage.
    • certified as a 50% or greater disabled veteran and in possession of their complimentary Disabled Veteran License available on our Alaska Military Licenses webpage.
  • Groundfish species include: sablefish, Pacific cod, lingcod, flatfish (excluding halibut), walleye pollock, skates, and all species of rockfish.
  • Personal use groundfish may be taken at any time with longline or hand held line (not rod and reel) only, except:
    • Sablefish, Pacific cod, and rockfish, including thornyhead rockfish, may be taken for personal use only by longline, hand held line, or pot gear
    • Lingcod may not be taken from December 1 through May 15.
  • The amount of gear permitted for personal use bottomfish fishing is not restricted, except when taking sablefish.
  • Each personal use fisher shall plainly and legibly inscribe the fisher's first initial, last name, home address, and vessel name or the name or Division of Motor Vehicles boat registration number of the vessel used to operate the gear on the buoys attached to the unattended fishing gear.

Area Closures

  • The waters off Cape Edgecumbe enclosed by a box defined as 56° 55.5' N. lat., 56° 57' N. lat., 135° 54' W. long., and 135° 57' W. long. are closed to fishing for all species of groundfish.

Daily Bag and Possession Limits

  • There are no daily bag or possession limits for groundfish (excluding sablefish) except in the Sitka and Ketchikan vicinities, where the bag and possession limit for rockfish is three fish, no more than one of which may be yelloweye rockfish (Sebastes ruberrimus). These areas are defined as follows:
    • Sitka: the area of Sitka Sound enclosed on the north by lines from Kruzof Island at 57° 20.50' N. lat., 135° 45.17' W. long. to Chichagof Island at 57° 22.05' N. lat., 135° 43' W. long., and from Chichagof Island at 57° 22.58' N. lat., 135° 41.30' W. long. to Baranof Island at 57° 22.28' N. lat., 135° 40.95' W. long., and on the south and west by a line running from the southernmost tip of Sitka Point at 56° 59.38' N. lat., 135° 49.57' W. long. to Hanus Point at 56° 51.92' N. lat., 135° 30.50' W. long. to the green day marker in Dorothy Narrows to Baranof Island at 56° 49.28' N. lat., 135° 22.60' W. long.
    • Ketchikan: all waters of Section 1-E south of the latitude of Bushy Point Light and in the waters of Section 1-F north of lines from Point Alava to the southernmost tip of Ham Island, from Cedar Point to Dall Head, and from Dall Head to a point on the District 1 boundary in Clarence Strait at the latitude of Dall Head.

Other Restrictions

  • It is unlawful to buy, sell, trade, or barter fish or their parts taken under personal use regulations.
  • Groundfish taken under personal use regulations may not be used as bait in a commercial fishery.
  • Contact Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve prior to engaging in the state personal use groundfish fishery within Glacier Bay National Park (907) 697-2230.

Regulations Specific to Personal Use Sablefish Fishery

(Refer to permit for more information)

In the Southeast Alaska Area, personal use sablefish may be taken only as follows:

  • A personal use fishing permit issued by the department is required to take sablefish; only one permit will be issued per household per year.
  • Permit holder or a household member listed on the permit must have a valid permit in possession when fishing.
  • The personal use annual limit is 50 sablefish per household permit.
  • No more than 200 personal use sablefish may be retained on board a vessel when 4 or more sablefish permit holders are present on board that vessel.
  • Only Pacific cod and rockfish bycatch may be retained in pot gear.
  • A permit holder shall record fishing activity on the permit Fishing Report prior to leaving the fishing site.
  • Buoys are required at beginning and end of line and marked as outlined in the General Personal Use Groundfish Fishery Regulations above.
  • Longline gear is limited to a maximum of 350 hooks in aggregate.
  • Pot gear is limited to 2 pots per permit, and no more than 8 pots per vessel when 4 or more permits are on the same vessel. Pots may be longlined.
  • Pots must comply with escape mechanism requirements in 5 AAC 39.145. All pot gear must have individual tunnel eye openings with perimeters of 36 inches or less.
  • A collapsible pot must contain two escapement openings on opposite sides of the pot equal to or exceeding 18 inches in length that must be laced, sewn, or secured together by a single length of untreated 100-percent cotton twine no larger than 30 thread count. Twine may be knotted at each end only and the opening must be within 6 inches of the edge of the pot and must be parallel with it.
  • Pots must have at least two circular escape rings, with a minimum diameter of three and one-half inches, installed on opposing vertical or sloping walls of the pot.
    • Illustration of a groundfish pot
  • A vessel or a person on board a vessel may not participate in a commercial sablefish fishery in the NSEI and SSEI subdistricts if the vessel or person on board the vessel operates commercial, subsistence, sport, or personal use halibut or groundfish fishing gear during the 72-hour period immediately before an opening of the commercial sablefish fishery in that subdistrict.
  • A vessel or permit holder participating in a commercial sablefish fishery in NSEI or SSEI may not operate subsistence, sport, or personal use halibut or groundfish fishing gear during the commercial sablefish fishery or during the 72 hours immediately following the closure of that fishery unless they meet specific exemptions. Exemptions include if the vessel has not yet registered or if the vessel or permit holder has fully harvested and offloaded their quota at least 72 hours prior, has removed their commercial gear from the water for 72 hours, and has canceled their registration at least 72 hours earlier with a local representative of the department.
  • A person on board a vessel from which fishing gear is used to take groundfish for subsistence or personal use in the NSEI or SSEI Subdistricts may not operate commercial fishing gear for groundfish from that vessel until all subsistence or personal use-taken groundfish are offloaded from the vessel.
  • You must report your harvest, even if you didn't fish. Failure to report will affect your ability to receive a permit in subsequent years.

Sablefish Personal Use Reporting Options

Questions?
Call Sitka ADF&G Office: (907) 747-6688