The Department of Fish and Game announced late last week its opening for the directed lingcod fishery will be starting next month.
For the outside waters of Southeast District, east of 144° W., the fishery opens May 16 just after midnight. Lingcod management areas will remain open to directed lingcod fishing until November 30 or when harvest allocations are taken, whichever occurs first.
In round pounds, the largest allocation will be for the East Yakutat section between 137° and 140° W., at 111,000. The next largest allocation will be for Central Southeast Outside (refer to map) at 86,400 pounds, followed by 50,100 for the Southern Southeast Outer Coast sector, 46,000 for the Icy Bay Subdistrict, and 17,200 for the Northern Southeast Outside area. No allocations were allotted for either the Northern Southeast Inside or Southern Southeast Internal Waters sectors.
All lingcod retained must measure at least 27 inches in length, from the tip of the snout to the tip of the tail, or else 20.5 inches from the front of the dorsal fin to the tip of the tail. Logbooks for ADFG are required, and a copy of the logbook pages detailing a landing must be attached to the associated fish ticket at the time of the landing. Entries must include the date, specific location in degrees and decimal minutes, number of lines and hooks used, average depth, and other details.
Gear legal for the permitted, directed lingcod fishery is limited to mechanical jigging machines, dinglebar troll gear and hand troll gear. Vessels fishing for or transporting groundfish taken with dinglebar troll gear must display the letter "D," while vessels using mechanical jigging machines display an "M." A person may not operate a vessel that displays more than one of these letters at a time, and neither letter can be displayed when fishing for salmon.
Several waters will remain closed in specific areas, including around the Edgecumbe Pinnacle Marine Reserve, Gulf of Alaska coral protection areas, and a section of Sitka Sound in the Central Southeast Outside. For particular coordinates, refer to the ADFG announcement at http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/applications/dcfnewsrelease/771243062.pdf.
Bycatch allowances for groundfish also apply to the directed lingcod fishery. Based on the found weight of lingcod on board, a 10-percent bycatch is allowed for demersal shelf rockfish in the EYKT, NSEO, CSEO, SSEOC and IBS waters. A 15-percent bycatch is allowed for black, blue, and dark rockfish in the aggregate, while other rockfish and thornyheads have a five-percent allowance. Pacific cod and spiny dogfish each have a 20-percent bycatch allowance, as do other ground fish besides skates, which are at five percent. Sablefish are not allowable. For further possession and landing requirements, refer to the fishery announcement.
Catch and effort will be closely monitored, and fishermen should expect area closures on short notice from departmental news releases, the Coast Guard "Notice to Mariners" report and the National Weather Service broadcast. Closures will also be announced on the groundfish hotline at 907-747-4882.
Reader Comments(0)