Basic Definitions:
Personal use fishing means the taking, fishing for, or possession of finfish, shellfish, or other fishery resources, by Alaska residents for personal use and not for sale or barter, with gill or dip net, seine, fish wheel, long line, or other means defined by the Board of Fisheries (AS 16.05.940[24]).
Management:
Personal use fishing is primarily managed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Sport Fish Division, but some regional or area fisheries for various species of fish are managed by the Division of Commercial Fisheries. For example, permitting for Southeast Alaska king crab personal use fisheries are handled out of the Southeast Regional office, Division of Commercial Fisheries, in Douglas, Alaska (Juneau).
Generally fish may be taken for personal use purposes only under authority of a permit issued by the department. Always check with your local ADF&G Office.
To better understand subsistence and personal use fisheries please read the following excerpt from:
Alaska Department of Fish and Game. 2005. Alaska Subsistence Fishries 2003 Annual Report. Division of Subsistence. Juneau. - PDF file* (1,135K) :
"Subsistence uses of wild resources are defined as 'noncommercial, customary and traditional uses' for a variety of purposes. These include:
"Direct personal or family consumption as food, shelter, fuel, clothing, tools, or transportation, for the making and selling of handicraft articles out of nonedible by-products of fish and wildlife resources taken for personal or family consumption, and for the customary trade, barter, or sharing for personal or family consumption (AS 16.05.940[32]).
"Under Alaska’s subsistence statute, the Alaska board of Fisheries must identify fish stocks that support subsistence fisheries and, if there is a harvestable surplus of these stocks, adopt regulations that provide reasonable opportunities for these subsistence uses to take place. Whenever it is necessary to restrict harvests, subsistence fisheries have a preference over other uses of the stock (AS 16.05.258).
"Also, the Joint Board of Fisheries and Game is required to identify 'nonsubsistence areas,' where 'dependence upon subsistence is not a principle characteristic of the economy, culture, and way of life of the area or community' (AS 16.05.258(c)). The Board of Fisheries may not authorize subsistence fisheries in nonsubsistence areas. Personal Use fisheries provide opportunities for harvesting fish with gear other than rod and reel in nonsubsistence areas. The Joint Board has identified five nonsubsistence areas (5 AAC 99.015): Ketchikan Nonsubsistence Area, Juneau nonsubsistence Area, Anchorage-Matsu-Kenai Nonsubsistence Area, Fairbanks Nonsubsistence Area, and Valdez nonsubsistence Area."
and
"Personal use fisheries are different from subsistence fisheries because they do not meet the criteria established by the Joint Board for identifying customary and traditional fisheries (5 AAC 99.010), or because they occur within nonsubsistence areas."
For complete definitions and to view regulations for personal use and subsistence fishing please see the following:
- State of Alaska Regulations:
- Federal Regulations:
Contacts / Information:
For additional information pertaining to personal use or subsistence fisheries in Alaska please contact one of our ADF&G Division of Commercial Fisheries Offices, ADF&G Sport Fish Offices, or Subsistence Division Offices.
of the Kasilof River.
Links:
(to Fisheries Areas / Regional pages and Regulations)
IMPORTANT NOTE: Click here for help in understanding how to best naviagate State of Alaska regulation pages (5 AAC) listed below.
- Statewide peronsal use provisions — see 5 AAC 77.001)
- Alaska Peninsula Area (shellfish — some regulatory restrictions or exceptions — see 5 AAC 77.350)
- Aleutian Islands Area (shrimp, Dungeness crab, king crab, Tanner crab — some regulatory restrictions or exceptions — see 5 AAC 77.300)
- Bristol Bay Area (shrimp, Dungeness crab, king crab, Tanner crab, herring and salmon — some regulatory restrictions or exceptions — see 5 AAC 77.250)
- Chignik Area (shrimp, Dungeness crab, king crab, Tanner crab — some regulatory restrictions or exceptions — see 5 AAC 77.400)
- Cook Inlet (clams, shrimp, Dungeness crab, king crab, Tanner crab, salmon, smelt — some regulatory restrictions or exceptions — see 5 AAC 77.500)
- Copper River Salmon - Personal Use and Subsistence Fisheries — see 5 AAC 77.591
- Kodiak Area (shrimp, Dungeness crab, king crab, Tanner crab — some regulatory restrictions or exceptions — see 5 AAC 77.450)
- Kotzebue Area (shrimp, Dungeness crab, king crab, Tanner crab, herring — some regulatory restrictions or exceptions — see 5 AAC 77.050)
- Kuskokwim Area (shrimp, Dungeness crab, king crab, Tanner crab, herring, Pacific cod — some regulatory restrictions or exceptions — see 5 AAC 77.200)
- Norton Sound–Port Clarence Area (shrimp, Dungeness crab, and herring — some regulatory restrictions or exceptions — see 5 AAC 77.100)
- Prince William Sound (shrimp, Dungeness crab, king crab, Tanner crab, clam, salmon — some regulatory restrictions or exceptions — see 5 AAC 77.550)
See also Southcentral Alaska Shellfish Permits page.
- Southeast Alaska (shrimp, Dungeness crab, king crab, Tanner crab, scallop, clam, abalone, herring, bottomfish, halibut, smelt, salmon — some regulatory restrictions or exceptions — see 5 AAC 77.650)
- Yakutat (shrimp, Dungeness crab, king crab, Tanner crab, scallop,clam, herring, bottomfish, halibut, smelt, salmon — see 5 AAC 77.600)
- Yukon-Northern Area (shirmp, Dungeness crab, king crab, Tanner crab, salmon, herring, whitefish and suckers — some regulatory restrictions or exceptions — see 5 AAC 77.150)
For additional information regarding personal use fishing see additional materials on this and related pages or contact staff using the Contact / Information links at the bottom of the left-hand column of this page.
