The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced last week limits for the year’s lingcod sport fishing season, which for Southeast Alaska began on Monday.
Running through to Nov. 30, licensed residents will be limited to bagging one lingcod a day, with two in possession, and no size limitation. During the season nonresident anglers will likewise have a bag limit of one per day, though with only one in possession. In addition, nonresidents may only keep lingcod which are between 30 and 45 inches or else are 55 inches or greater in length.
Nonresidents are limited to an annual limit of two fish, one of which can be between 30 and 45 inches and the other being 55 inches or greater in length. They are required to immediately record the date and location of the catch, in ink, on the back of their sport fishing license or nontransferable harvest record.
Also under the regulations, charter operators and crew members may not retain lingcod while clients are on board the vessel.
The regulations are outlined on page 10 of the Southeast Alaska 2016 Sport Fishing Regulations Summary. ADFG explained these limitations have been enacted to ensure the sport harvest of lingcod stays within the sport fishery allocations established by the Board of Fisheries.
In a separate announcement, ADFG announced the dates and times for the spring troll fishery. Openings may be extended if the Alaska hatchery contributions are high. For the Wrangell and Prince of Wales area, the fishery opened on Sunday for all areas except District 8 Directed, which opened on Monday and closed yesterday. Bucareli Bay closed on its opening day, with South Sumner Strait the following day. Steamer Point closed on Wednesday. Snow Pass, North Sumner Strait and Ernest Sound all close at 11:59 p.m. on Saturday.
Additionally, the spring troll fishery will remain open in the Chatham Strait area’s Frederick Sound and the strait itself, until Saturday night. The fisheries at Tebenkof Bay and Little Port Walter have already closed. Icy Strait and North Chatham areas such as Hawk Inlet and South Passage will remain open through Saturday.
ADFG notes the importance of keeping fish caught in different fishery areas separate so accurate dockside sampling can occur by department personnel. If more than one area is fished, each troller and tender must keep and report these catches separately.
The Spring Troll Management Plan, Sport Fishing Regulations, maps and other information can be found online at the http://www.adfg.alaska.gov site. For additional inquiries contact the Wrangell ADFG office at 874-3822.
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