Welcome to the Alaska Board of Fisheries

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Proposed Regulation Changes for 2020/2021

The proposal book for the 2020/2021 cycle will be available in August.

Calendar

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The Board of Fisheries provides notices for meetings, regulatory changes, proposals, and calls for proposals electronically. Sign up to receive e-mails on your areas and regions of interest. To request information by hard copy, please contact us at (907) 465-4110.

Long-Term Cycle

Proposed changes to regulations (proposals) are considered for each region once every three years, on the schedule outlined below. Proposals are typically accepted from December-April on subjects scheduled for the upcoming cycle.

  1. Meeting years: 2021-2022 (proposals due April 2021), 2024-2025, 2027-2028
    • Alaska Peninsula/Bering Sea-Aleutian Island/Chignik Areas Finfish
    • Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim Areas Finfish
    • Bristol Bay Area Finfish
    • Statewide Provisions for Finfish
  2. Meeting years: 2022-2023 (proposals due April 2022), 2025-2026, 2028-2029, 2031-2032
    • Cook Inlet Area Finfish
    • Kodiak Area Finfish
    • Statewide (except Southeast/Yakutat, and Prince William Sound Tanner Crab) King and Tanner Crab*
  3. Meeting years: 2020-2021 (proposals due April 2020), 2023-2024, 2026-2027, 2029-2030
    • Prince William Sound Finfish and Shellfish (except shrimp)**
    • Southeast/Yakutat Finfish and Shellfish
    • Statewide (except SE/Yakutat/PWS) Shellfish

*Starting in 2020-2021, the Statewide (except Southeast/Yakutat/PWS Tanner Crab) King & Tanner Crab meeting will become part of Statewide (except SE/Yakutat/PWS) Shellfish. Starting in 2022-2023, this meeting cycle will have only two meetings, Cook Inlet Finfish and Kodiak Finfish.

**Starting in 2023, Prince William Sound Finfish and Shellfish will include shrimp.

The board may also consider subsistence proposals for other topics (including other areas), if proposals are submitted by the typical annual deadline in April and the board determines they meet the criteria in either 5 AAC 96.615(a)(1) or (2).

About the Board

The Alaska Board of Fisheries consists of seven members serving three-year terms. Members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the legislature. Members are appointed on the basis of interest in public affairs, good judgment, knowledge, and ability in the field of action of the board, with a view to providing diversity of interest and points of view in the membership (see Alaska Statute 16.05.221).

The Board of Fisheries's main role is to conserve and develop the fishery resources of the state. This involves setting seasons, bag limits, methods and means for the state's subsistence, commercial, sport, guided sport, and personal use fisheries, and it also involves setting policy and direction for the management of the state's fishery resources. The board is charged with making allocative decisions, and the department is responsible for management based on those decisions.

The board has a three-year meeting cycle (above), and generally holds meetings from October through March. The Board of Fisheries meets four to six times per year in communities around the state to consider proposed changes to fisheries regulations. The board uses biological and socioeconomic information provided by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, public comment received from people inside and outside of the state, and guidance from the Alaska Department of Public Safety and Alaska Department of Law when creating regulations that are sound and enforceable.

Board of Fisheries Authority

The Board of Fisheries is established under Alaska Statute 16.05.221 for the purposes of the conservation and development of the fisheries resources of the state. The Board of Fisheries has the authority to adopt regulations described in AS 16.05.251 including: establishing open and closed seasons and areas for taking fish; setting quotas, bag limits, harvest levels and limitations for taking fish; and establishing the methods and means for the taking of fish. The regulations the Board of Fisheries has authority over are 5 AAC Chapters 1- 77.

Contact Us

Contact the Boards Support main office at (907) 465-4110, or see detailed contact information.