AK Peninsula/Aleutian Islands Salmon Set Gillnet Fishery - MMPA List of Fisheries
U.S. fisheries are classified under the Marine Mammal Protection Act according to the level of interactions that result in incidental mortality or serious injury of marine mammals.
Current Classification on the List of Fisheries
Category |
II |
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Estimated Number of Participants |
75 |
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Target Species |
salmon |
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Applicable Take Reduction Plans |
N/A |
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Observer Coverage |
N/A |
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Marine Mammal Species/Stocks Killed or Injured |
Harbor porpoise, Bering Sea; Northern sea otter, Southwest AK; Steller sea lion, Western U.S. |
^ Number of participants estimates are based on state and federal fisheries permit data. The estimated number of participants is expressed in terms of the number of active participants in the fishery, when possible. If this information is not available, the estimated number of vessels or persons licensed for a particular fishery is provided. If no recent information is available on the number of participants, then the number from the most recent LOF is used. NOAA Fisheries acknowledges that, in some cases, these estimations may be inflating actual effort.
*Observer coverage levels include the latest information reported in the most current final Stock Assessment Report (SAR).
1 Indicates the stock or species is driving the classification of the fishery.
Basis for Current Classification
Based on analogy to other Category II AK set gillnet fisheries.
Distribution
This fishery generally operates from June 18 to mid-August in two districts north of the AK Peninsula (Northern and Northwestern) and four districts south of the AK Peninsula (Unimak, Southwestern, Southcentral, and Southeastern). Set gillnet fishing effort also occurs off Atka and Amelia Islands.
Gear Description
This fishery uses set gillnet with the gear set every two hours during the day and night. The gear is set with continuous soak times during the opener.
Salmon may only be fished commercially during periods known as openers established by the AK Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) in-season. Openers may last days or weeks. The ADFG posts weekly notices of fishing openers and announces the openers on regular radio channels. Fishing periods are often extended by emergency order during the last 24 hours of the opener.
Management
This fishery is managed by the AK Department of Fish and Game as a limited entry fishery with gear restrictions on the mesh and net size, and area closures.
Historical Information
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Original Category (Year added to the LOF) |
II (1996) |
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Original Number of Participants |
116 |
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Basis for Original Classification |
This fishery was categorized as a Category II based on analogy with other Category II AK set gillnet fisheries, and due to inadequate observer coverage and logbook data (which likely represented an underestimate of the serious injury and mortality levels). Observer coverage was inadequate to determine serious injury and mortality levels across all fisheries, but available data suggested that serious injury and mortality might have been more than 10% of the Potential Biological Removal (PBR) level for each stock with which the fishery interacted. Data suggested that levels of mortality and serious injury would be similar to those in other set gillnet fisheries which interact with similar marine mammals species, especially harbor porpoise |
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Past Names |
AK Peninsula/Aleutian Island salmon set gillnet (until 1999). |
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Species/stocks historically documented as killed or injured (but not currently on the list) |
N/A |
Timeline of Changes
| 2024 |
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2016 |
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2015 |
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2013 |
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2009 |
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2006 |
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2001 |
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1999 |
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1998 |
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