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 Read more…
Category: Sablefish Pots
Fishermen Planning to Set Sablefish Pots in 2017
If you are planning on fishing sablefish pots in the Gulf of Alaska in 2017, you will need to have a ‘pot gear’ endorsement added to your Federal Fisheries Permit that currently has a ‘hook-and-line gear’ endorsement. You can legally have both endorsements on your FFP. If you wish to drop an endorsement from your FFP, this can only be done once in a three-year cycle. However, there are no restrictions on adding an endorsement and it can be done at any time.
Regulations for the Gulf of Alaska Sablefish IFQ Fishery
50 CFR 679.2 Pot gear Pot gear means a portable structure designed and constructed to capture and retain fish alive in the water. This gear type includes longline pot and pot-and-line gear. Each groundfish pot must comply with the following: (i) Biodegradable panel. Each pot used to fish for groundfish must be equipped with a biodegradable panel at least 18 inches (45.72 cm) in length that is parallel to, and within 6 inches (15.24 cm) of, the bottom of the pot, and that is sewn up with untreated cotton thread of no larger size than No. 30. (ii) Tunnel opening. Each pot used to fish for groundfish must be equipped with rigid tunnel openings that are no wider than 9 inches (22.86 cm) and no higher than 9 inches (22.86 cm), or soft tunnel openings with dimensions that are no wider than 9 inches Read more…