(Released: March 20, 2017 - Expired: March 31, 2018)

Division of Sport Fish
Tom Brookover, Director
Anchorage Headquarters Office
333 Raspberry Road
Anchorage, AK 99518


Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Sam Cotten, Commissioner
P.O. Box 115526
Juneau, AK 99811-5526
www.adfg.alaska.gov


Contact: Bob Chadwick, SE Regional Management Coordinator
(907) 747-5551

SOUTHEAST ALASKA NONPELAGIC ROCKFISH SPORT FISHING REGULATIONS FOR 2017

Juneau – Today the Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced the nonpelagic rockfish bag, possession, and retention regulations for the Southeast Alaska sport fishery during 2017. The following regulations are effective 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, March 22, 2017 through Saturday, March 31, 2018:

All Southeast Waters

  • Alaska Residents – No size limit, bag and possession limit of 1 nonpelagic rockfish;

  • Nonresidents – No size limit, bag and possession limit of 1 nonpelagic rockfish; annual limit of 1 yelloweye rockfish, which must be recorded, in ink, on the back of the angler’s sport fishing license or on a harvest record card at the time of harvest.

  • All nonpelagic rockfish caught must be retained until the bag limit is reached. Once an angler’s first nonpelagic rockfish is caught and retained they must release all nonpelagic rockfish caught thereafter.

  • Anglers that release nonpelagic rockfish caught while sport fishing from a charter vessel once their bag limit has been reached, must use a deep water release mechanism to return the fish to the depth it was hooked or to a depth of at least 100 feet. All charter vessels must have at least one functional deep water release mechanism on board and readily available for use when sport fishing activities are taking place.

  • Charter operators and crew members may not retain nonpelagic rockfish while clients are on board the vessel.

Southeast Outside Waters (see attached map)

  • Retention of nonpelagic rockfish is prohibited in all Southeast Outside Waters from August 1 through August 21, 2017. All anglers fishing from a vessel in Southeast Outside Waters during this time must have a functional deep water release mechanism on board (regardless of target species) and all anglers must release nonpelagic rockfish at depth of capture or at least 100 feet using a deep water release mechanism.

These conservative management actions are being implemented for the 2017 Southeast Alaska nonpelagic rockfish sport fisheries to meet the Southeast Outside Waters sport fish nonpelagic rockfish allocation and to reduce increasing nonpelagic rockfish sport harvest in the Southeast Inside Waters to historic levels.

Anglers are encouraged to release all rockfish back to the depth of capture using a deep water release mechanism. Use of deep water release mechanisms can increase survival of released rockfish from about 20% for surface release to over 90% under ideal conditions. For more information on deep water release of rockfish please see the ADF&G 2017 Southeast Alaska Sport Fishing Regulations Summary (page 37).

For further information, contact the nearest ADF&G office or visit: www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm

SOUTHEAST ALASKA NONPELAGIC ROCKFISH SPORT FISHING REGULATIONS FOR 2017

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