Welcome to the Alaska Board of Fisheries
Latest News
- Alaska Board of Fisheries to meet in Anchorage for Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim Finfish and Supplemental Issues January 14-18, 2023 (PDF 270 kB)
- Alaska Board of Fisheries Issues 2023/2024 Call for Proposals (PDF 290 kB)
- Alaska Board of Fisheries Issues Revised 2022/2023 Meeting Schedule (PDF 426 kB)
- Supplemental Notice of Public Meetings of the Alaska Board of Fisheries (PDF 178 kB)
- Joint Board Committee Meeting of the Alaska Boards of Game and Fisheries - December 20, 2022 (PDF 253 kB)
- 2022-2023 Notice of Proposed Changes in the Regulations of the Alaska Board of Fisheries (PDF 283 kB)
- 2023–2024 Meeting Schedule (PDF 41 kB)
Call for Proposals 2023-2024
The Board of Fisheries is currently accepting proposals for Lower Cook Inlet, Kodiak and Upper Cook Inlet finfish management areas. The board may also consider subsistence proposals for other topics (including other areas) under the subsistence proposal policy, 5 AAC 96.615, if proposals are submitted within this deadline and the board determines they meet the criteria in either 5 AAC 96.615(a)(1) or (2).
Proposal Deadline: April 10, 2023.
Click here for more information about how to submit a proposal to the Board of Fisheries.
Alaska Board of Fisheries 2022-2023 Proposal Book
Read the proposals to be considered in the 2022/2023 cycle.
Comments to the Board of Fisheries
Submit comments for the 2022-2023 Board of Fisheries meeting cycle by selecting one of the meetings below:
- Joint Protocol Committee (comments due October 5, 2022)
- Work Session (comments due October 11, 2022)
- Alaska Peninsula, Aleutian Islands, Bering Sea, and Chignik Pacific Cod (comments due October 11, 2022)
- Bristol Bay Finfish (comments due November 14, 2022)
- Arctic / Yukon / Kuskokwim Finfish (comments due December 30, 2022)
- Alaska Peninsula / Aleutian Island / Chignik Finfish (comments due February 6, 2023)
- Hatchery Committee (comments due February 22, 2023)
- Statewide Finfish (comments due February 23, 2023)
Agenda Change Requests (ACRs)
Agenda Change Requests for the 2022-2023 board cycle (PDF 645 kB)
ACRs are requests to consider proposals that aren't part of the current cycle. Read the Agenda Change Request Submission Policy (PDF 8 kB) for further info.
Calendar
Join our e-mail list
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. *Due to COVID-19, these schedules are subject to change.* Proposals are typically accepted from December-April on subjects scheduled for the upcoming cycle.
- Meeting years: 2022-2023, 2025-2026, 2028-2029, 2031-2032
- Alaska Peninsula/Bering Sea-Aleutian Island/Chignik Areas Finfish
- Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim Areas Finfish
- Bristol Bay Area Finfish
- Statewide Provisions for Finfish
- Meeting years: 2023-2024, 2026-2027, 2029-2030
- Cook Inlet Area Finfish
- Kodiak Area Finfish
- Statewide (except Southeast/Yakutat, and Prince William Sound Tanner Crab) King and Tanner Crab*
- Meeting years: 2021-2022, 2024-2025, 2027-2028
- Prince William Sound Finfish and Shellfish (except shrimp)**
- Southeast/Yakutat Finfish and Shellfish
- Statewide (except SE/Yakutat/PWS) Shellfish
*Starting in 2021-2022, the Statewide (except Southeast/Yakutat/PWS Tanner Crab) King & Tanner Crab meeting will become part of Statewide (except SE/Yakutat/PWS) Shellfish. Starting in 2023-2024, this meeting cycle will have only two meetings, Cook Inlet Finfish and Kodiak Finfish.
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.