The longline season will open on March 11, it is also official now that the effective date for longline pot gear in the GOA sablefish IFQ fishery will also be March 11, 2017:
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2017-02-07/pdf/2017-02463.pdf
If you are planning on using pot gear this season, you will need pot tags and a VMS system.
The Pot Tag Request form is available from this webpage:
https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/fisheries-applications
Pacific States and NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement have a collaborative reimbursement program for OLE approved VMS systems:
http://www.psmfc.org/program/vessel-monitoring-system-reimbursement-program-vms
OLE approved VMS systems for the Alaska Region are; Skymate l1500 VMS, CLS America Triton Advanced, CLS America Thorium TST A2.0, CLS America Thorium LEO A2.0, Faria WatchDog 750 VMS (with messaging terminal), Network Innovations Sailor VMS Gold and Gold Plus.
https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/fisheries/cwm