50 CFR 100.25 - Subsistence taking of fish, wildlife, and shellfish: general regulations.
(a) Definitions. The following definitions apply to all regulations contained in this part:
Abalone iron means a flat device which is used for taking abalone and which is more than 1 inch (24 mm) in width and less than 24 inches (610 mm) in length, with all prying edges rounded and smooth.
ADF&G means the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
Airborne means transported by aircraft.
Aircraft means any kind of airplane, glider, or other device used to transport people or equipment through the air, excluding helicopters.
Airport means an airport listed in the Federal Aviation Administration's Alaska Airman's Guide and chart supplement.
Anchor means a device used to hold a fishing vessel or net in a fixed position relative to the beach; this includes using part of the seine or lead, a ship's anchor, or being secured to another vessel or net that is anchored.
Animal means those species with a vertebral column (backbone).
Antler means one or more solid, horn-like appendages protruding from the head of a caribou, deer, elk, or moose.
Antlered means any caribou, deer, elk, or moose having at least one visible antler.
Antlerless means any caribou, deer, elk, or moose not having visible antlers attached to the skull.
Bait means any material excluding a scent lure that is placed to attract an animal by its sense of smell or taste; however, those parts of legally taken animals that are not required to be salvaged and which are left at the kill site are not considered bait.
Beach seine means a floating net which is designed to surround fish and is set from and hauled to the beach.
Broadhead means an arrowhead that is not barbed and has two or more steel cutting edges having a minimum cutting diameter of not less than seven-eighths of an inch.
Buck means any male deer.
Bull means any male moose, caribou, elk, or musk oxen.
Calf means a moose, caribou, elk, musk ox, or bison less than 12 months old.
Cast net means a circular net with a mesh size of no more than 1.5 inches and weights attached to the perimeter, which, when thrown, surrounds the fish and closes at the bottom when retrieved.
Char means the following species: Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinis), lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), and Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma).
Closed season means the time when fish, wildlife, or shellfish may not be taken.
Crab means the following species: Red king crab (Paralithodes camshatica), blue king crab (Paralithodes platypus), brown king crab (Lithodes aequispina), scarlet king crab (Lithodes couesi), all species of tanner or snow crab (Chionoecetes spp.), and Dungeness crab (Cancer magister).
Depth of net means the perpendicular distance between cork line and lead line expressed as either linear units of measure or as a number of meshes, including all of the web of which the net is composed.
Designated hunter or fisherman means a Federally qualified hunter or fisherman who may take all or a portion of another Federally qualified hunter's or fisherman's harvest limit(s) only under situations approved by the Board.
Dip net means a bag-shaped net supported on all sides by a rigid frame; the maximum straight-line distance between any two points on the net frame, as measured through the net opening, may not exceed 5 feet; the depth of the bag must be at least one-half of the greatest straight-line distance, as measured through the net opening; no portion of the bag may be constructed of webbing that exceeds a stretched measurement of 4.5 inches; the frame must be attached to a single rigid handle and be operated by hand.
Diving gear means any type of hard hat or skin diving equipment, including SCUBA equipment; a tethered, umbilical, surface-supplied unit; or snorkel.
Drainage means all of the lands and waters comprising a watershed, including tributary rivers, streams, sloughs, ponds, and lakes, which contribute to the water supply of the watershed.
Drawing permit means a permit issued to a limited number of Federally qualified subsistence users selected by means of a random drawing.
Drift gillnet means a drifting gillnet that has not been intentionally staked, anchored, or otherwise fixed in one place.
Edible meat means the breast meat of ptarmigan and grouse and those parts of caribou, deer, elk, mountain goat, moose, musk oxen, and Dall sheep that are typically used for human consumption, which are: The meat of the ribs, neck, brisket, front quarters as far as the distal (bottom) joint of the radius-ulna (knee), hindquarters as far as the distal joint (bottom) of the tibia-fibula (hock) and that portion of the animal between the front and hindquarters; however, edible meat of species listed in this definition does not include: Meat of the head, meat that has been damaged and made inedible by the method of taking, bones, sinew, and incidental meat reasonably lost as a result of boning or close trimming of the bones, or viscera. For black bear, brown and grizzly bear, “edible meat” means the meat of the front quarter and hindquarters and meat along the backbone (backstrap).
Federally qualified subsistence user means a rural Alaska resident qualified to harvest fish or wildlife on Federal public lands in accordance with the Federal Subsistence Management Regulations in this part.
Field means an area outside of established year-round dwellings, businesses, or other developments usually associated with a city, town, or village; field does not include permanent hotels or roadhouses on the State road system or at State or Federally maintained airports.
Fish wheel means a fixed, rotating device, with no more than four baskets on a single axle, for catching fish, which is driven by river current or other means.
Fresh water of streams and rivers means the line at which fresh water is separated from salt water at the mouth of streams and rivers by a line drawn headland to headland across the mouth as the waters flow into the sea.
Full curl horn means the horn of a Dall sheep ram; the tip of which has grown through 360 degrees of a circle described by the outer surface of the horn, as viewed from the side, or that both horns are broken, or that the sheep is at least 8 years of age as determined by horn growth annuli.
Furbearer means a beaver, coyote, arctic fox, red fox, lynx, marten, mink, weasel, muskrat, river (land) otter, red squirrel, flying squirrel, ground squirrel, marmot, wolf, or wolverine.
Fyke net means a fixed, funneling (fyke) device used to entrap fish.
Gear means any type of fishing apparatus.
Gillnet means a net primarily designed to catch fish by entanglement in a mesh that consists of a single sheet of webbing which hangs between cork line and lead line, and which is fished from the surface of the water.
Grappling hook means a hooked device with flukes or claws, which is attached to a line and operated by hand.
Groundfish or bottomfish means any marine fish except halibut, osmerids, herring, and salmonids.
Grouse collectively refers to all species found in Alaska, including spruce grouse, ruffed grouse, sooty grouse (formerly blue), and sharp-tailed grouse.
Hand purse seine means a floating net that is designed to surround fish and which can be closed at the bottom by pursing the lead line; pursing may only be done by hand power, and a free-running line through one or more rings attached to the lead line is not allowed.
Handicraft means a finished product made by a rural Alaskan resident from the nonedible byproducts of fish or wildlife and is composed wholly or in some significant respect of natural materials. The shape and appearance of the natural material must be substantially changed by the skillful use of hands, such as sewing, weaving, drilling, lacing, beading, carving, etching, scrimshawing, painting, or other means, and incorporated into a work of art, regalia, clothing, or other creative expression, and can be either traditional or contemporary in design. The handicraft must have substantially greater monetary and aesthetic value than the unaltered natural material alone.
Handline means a hand-held and operated line, with one or more hooks attached.
Hare or hares collectively refers to all species of hares (commonly called rabbits) in Alaska and includes snowshoe hare and tundra hare.
Harvest limit means the number of any one species permitted to be taken by any one person or designated group, per specified time period, in a Unit or portion of a Unit in which the taking occurs even if part or all of the harvest is preserved. A fish, when landed and killed by means of rod and reel, becomes part of the harvest limit of the person originally hooking it.
Herring pound means an enclosure used primarily to contain live herring over extended periods of time.
Highway means the drivable surface of any constructed road.
Hook means a single shanked fishhook with a single eye constructed with one or more points with or without barbs. A hook without a “barb” means the hook is manufactured without a barb or the barb has been completely removed or compressed so that barb is in complete contact with the shaft of the hook.
Household means that group of people residing in the same residence.
Hung measure means the maximum length of the cork line when measured wet or dry with traction applied at one end only.
Hydraulic clam digger means a device using water or a combination of air and water used to harvest clams.
Jigging gear means a line or lines with lures or baited hooks, drawn through the water by hand, and which are operated during periods of ice cover from holes cut in the ice, or from shore ice and which are drawn through the water by hand.
Lead means either a length of net employed for guiding fish into a seine, set gillnet, or other length of net, or a length of fencing employed for guiding fish into a fish wheel, fyke net, or dip net.
Legal limit of fishing gear means the maximum aggregate of a single type of fishing gear permitted to be used by one individual or boat, or combination of boats in any particular regulatory area, district, or section.
Marmot collectively refers to all species of marmot that occur in Alaska, including the hoary marmot, Alaska marmot, and the woodchuck.
Mechanical clam digger means a mechanical device used or capable of being used for the taking of clams.
Mechanical jigging machine means a mechanical device with line and hooks used to jig for halibut and bottomfish, but does not include hand gurdies or rods with reels.
Motorized vehicle means a motor-driven land, air, or water conveyance.
Permit hunt means a hunt for which State or Federal permits are issued by registration or other means.
Poison means any substance that is toxic or poisonous upon contact or ingestion.
Possession means having direct physical control of wildlife at a given time or having both the power and intention to exercise dominion or control of wildlife either directly or through another person or persons.
Possession limit means the maximum number of fish, grouse, or ptarmigan a person or designated group may have in possession if they have not been canned, salted, frozen, smoked, dried, or otherwise preserved so as to be fit for human consumption after a 15-day period.
Pot means a portable structure designed and constructed to capture and retain live fish and shellfish in the water.
Ptarmigan collectively refers to all species found in Alaska, including white-tailed ptarmigan, rock ptarmigan, and willow ptarmigan.
Purse seine means a floating net which is designed to surround fish and which can be closed at the bottom by means of a free-running line through one or more rings attached to the lead line.
Ram means a male Dall sheep.
Registration permit means a permit that authorizes hunting and is issued to a person who agrees to the specified hunting conditions. Hunting permitted by a registration permit begins on an announced date and continues throughout the open season, or until the season is closed by Board action. Registration permits are issued in the order requests are received and/or are based on priorities as determined by 50 CFR 100.17 and 36 CFR 242.17.
Regulatory year means July 1-June 30, except for fish and shellfish, for which it means April 1-March 31.
Ring net means a bag-shaped net suspended between no more than two frames; the bottom frame may not be larger in perimeter than the top frame; the gear must be nonrigid and collapsible so that free movement of fish or shellfish across the top of the net is not prohibited when the net is employed.
Rockfish means all species of the genus Sebastes.
Rod and reel means either a device upon which a line is stored on a fixed or revolving spool and is deployed through guides mounted on a flexible pole, or a line that is attached to a pole. In either case, bait or an artificial fly or lure is used as terminal tackle. This definition does not include the use of rod and reel gear for snagging.
Salmon means the following species: pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha); sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka); Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha); coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch); and chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta).
Salmon stream means any stream used by salmon for spawning, rearing, or for traveling to a spawning or rearing area.
Salvage means to transport the edible meat, skull, or hide, as required by regulation, of a regulated fish, wildlife, or shellfish to the location where the edible meat will be consumed by humans or processed for human consumption in a manner that saves or prevents the edible meat from waste, and preserves the skull or hide for human use.
Scallop dredge means a dredge-like device designed specifically for and capable of taking scallops by being towed along the ocean floor.
Sea urchin rake means a hand-held implement, no longer than 4 feet, equipped with projecting prongs used to gather sea urchins.
Sealing means placing a mark or tag on a portion of a harvested animal by an authorized representative of the ADF&G; sealing includes collecting and recording information about the conditions under which the animal was harvested, and measurements of the specimen submitted for sealing, or surrendering a specific portion of the animal for biological information.
Set gillnet means a gillnet that has been intentionally set, staked, anchored, or otherwise fixed.
Seven-eighths curl horn means the horn of a male Dall sheep, the tip of which has grown through seven-eighths (315 degrees) of a circle, described by the outer surface of the horn, as viewed from the side, or with both horns broken.
Shovel means a hand-operated implement for digging clams.
Spear means a shaft with a sharp point or fork-like implement attached to one end, which is used to thrust through the water to impale or retrieve fish, and which is operated by hand.
Stretched measure means the average length of any series of 10 consecutive meshes measured from inside the first knot and including the last knot when wet; the 10 meshes, when being measured, must be an integral part of the net, as hung, and measured perpendicular to the selvages; measurements will be made by means of a metal tape measure while the 10 meshes being measured are suspended vertically from a single peg or nail, under 5-pound weight.
Subsistence fishing permit means a subsistence harvest permit issued by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game or the Federal Subsistence Board.
Take or Taking means to fish, pursue, hunt, shoot, trap, net, capture, collect, kill, harm, or attempt to engage in any such conduct.
Tine or antler point refers to any point on an antler, the length of which is greater than its width and is at least 1 inch.
To operate fishing gear means any of the following: To deploy gear in the water; to remove gear from the water; to remove fish or shellfish from the gear during an open season or period; or to possess a gillnet containing fish during an open fishing period, except that a gillnet that is completely clear of the water is not considered to be operating for the purposes of minimum distance requirement.
Transportation means to ship, convey, carry, or transport by any means whatever and deliver or receive for such shipment, conveyance, carriage, or transportation.
Troll gear means a power gurdy troll gear consisting of a line or lines with lures or baited hooks that are drawn through the water by a power gurdy; hand troll gear consisting of a line or lines with lures or baited hooks that are drawn through the water from a vessel by hand trolling, strip fishing, or other types of trolling, and which are retrieved by hand power or hand-powered crank and not by any type of electrical, hydraulic, mechanical, or other assisting device or attachment; or dinglebar troll gear consisting of one or more lines, retrieved and set with a troll gurdy or hand troll gurdy, with a terminally attached weight from which one or more leaders with one or more lures or baited hooks are pulled through the water while a vessel is making way.
Trophy means a mount of a big game animal, including the skin of the head (cape) or the entire skin, in a lifelike representation of the animal, including a lifelike representation made from any part of a big game animal; “trophy” also includes a “European mount” in which the horns or antlers and the skull or a portion of the skull are mounted for display.
Trout means the following species: Cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki) and rainbow/steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).
Unclassified wildlife or unclassified species means all species of animals not otherwise classified by the definitions in this paragraph (a), or regulated under other Federal law as listed in paragraph (i) of this section.
Ungulate means any species of hoofed mammal, including deer, caribou, elk, moose, mountain goat, Dall sheep, and musk ox.
Unit and Subunit means one of the geographical areas in the State of Alaska known as Game Management Units, or GMUs, as defined in the codified Alaska Department of Fish and Game regulations found in Title 5 of the Alaska Administrative Code and collectively listed in this part as Units or Subunits.
(b) Taking fish, wildlife, or shellfish for subsistence uses by a prohibited method is a violation of this part. Seasons are closed unless opened by Federal regulation. Hunting, trapping, or fishing during a closed season or in an area closed by this part is prohibited. You may not take for subsistence fish, wildlife, or shellfish outside established Unit or Area seasons, or in excess of the established Unit or Area harvest limits, unless otherwise provided for by the Board. You may take fish, wildlife, or shellfish under State regulations on public lands, except as otherwise restricted at §§ 100.26 through 100.28. Unit/Area-specific restrictions or allowances for subsistence taking of fish, wildlife, or shellfish are identified at §§ 100.26 through 100.28.
(c) Harvest limits.
(2) Fish, wildlife, or shellfish taken by a designated individual for another person pursuant to § 100.10(d)(5)(ii) counts toward the individual harvest limit of the person for whom the fish, wildlife, or shellfish is taken.
(4) Unless otherwise provided, any person who gives or receives fish, wildlife, or shellfish must furnish, upon a request made by a Federal or State agent, a signed statement describing the following: Names and addresses of persons who gave and received fish, wildlife, or shellfish; the time and place that the fish, wildlife, or shellfish was taken; and identification of species transferred. Where a qualified subsistence user has designated another qualified subsistence user to take fish, wildlife, or shellfish on his or her behalf in accordance with § 100.10(d)(5)(ii), the permit must be furnished in place of a signed statement.
(d) Fishing by designated harvest permit.
(1) Any species of fish that may be taken by subsistence fishing under this part may be taken under a designated harvest permit.
(2) If you are a Federally qualified subsistence user, you (beneficiary) may designate another Federally qualified subsistence user to take fish on your behalf. The designated fisherman must obtain a designated harvest permit prior to attempting to harvest fish and must return a completed harvest report. The designated fisherman may fish for any number of beneficiaries but may have no more than two harvest limits in his/her possession at any one time.
(4) The designated fisherman may not fish with more than one legal limit of gear.
(5) You may not designate more than one person to take or attempt to take fish on your behalf at one time. You may not personally take or attempt to take fish at the same time that a designated fisherman is taking or attempting to take fish on your behalf.
(e) Hunting by designated harvest permit. If you are a Federally qualified subsistence user (recipient), you may designate another Federally qualified subsistence user to take deer, moose, and caribou, and in Units 1-5, goats, on your behalf unless you are a member of a community operating under a community harvest system or unless unit-specific regulations in § 100.26 preclude or modify the use of the designated hunter system or allow the harvest of additional species by a designated hunter. The designated hunter must obtain a designated hunter permit and must return a completed harvest report. The designated hunter may hunt for any number of recipients but may have no more than two harvest limits in his/her possession at any one time except for goats, where designated hunters may have no more than one harvest limit in possession at any one time, and unless otherwise specified in unit-specific regulations in § 100.26.
(f) A rural Alaska resident who has been designated to take fish, wildlife, or shellfish on behalf of another rural Alaska resident in accordance with § 100.10(d)(5)(ii) must promptly deliver the fish, wildlife, or shellfish to that rural Alaska resident and may not charge the recipient for his/her services in taking the fish, wildlife, or shellfish or claim for themselves the meat or any part of the harvested fish, wildlife, or shellfish.
(g) Cultural/educational program permits.
(1) A qualifying program must have instructors, enrolled students, minimum attendance requirements, and standards for successful completion of the course. Applications must be submitted to the Federal Subsistence Board through the Office of Subsistence Management and should be submitted 60 days prior to the earliest desired date of harvest. Harvest must be reported, and any animals harvested will count against any established Federal harvest quota for the area in which it is harvested.
(2) Requests for followup permits must be submitted to the in-season or local manager and should be submitted 60 days prior to the earliest desired date of harvest.
(1) You may not take more fish, wildlife, or shellfish for subsistence use than the limits set out in the permit;
(4) If specified on the permit, you must keep accurate daily records of the harvest, showing the number of fish, wildlife, or shellfish taken, by species, location, and date of harvest, and other such information as may be required for management or conservation purposes; and
(5) If the return of harvest information necessary for management and conservation purposes is required by a permit and you fail to comply with such reporting requirements, you are ineligible to receive a subsistence permit for that activity during the following regulatory year, unless you demonstrate that failure to report was due to loss in the mail, accident, sickness, or other unavoidable circumstances.
(j) Utilization of fish, wildlife, or shellfish.
(i) The hide, skin, viscera, head, or bones of wildlife;
(ii) The skinned carcass of a furbearer;
(iv) Unclassified wildlife.
(i) The hide of a wolf, wolverine, coyote, fox, lynx, marten, mink, weasel, or otter;
(iv) The hide or meat of squirrels, hares, marmots, beaver, muskrats, or unclassified wildlife.
(4) You may not intentionally waste or destroy any subsistence-caught fish or shellfish; however, you may use for bait or other purposes whitefish, herring, and species for which bag limits, seasons, or other regulatory methods and means are not provided in this section, as well as the head, tail, fins, and viscera of legally taken subsistence fish.
(5) Failure to salvage the edible meat may not be a violation if such failure is caused by circumstances beyond the control of a person, including theft of the harvested fish, wildlife, or shellfish, unanticipated weather conditions, or unavoidable loss to another animal.
(7) If you are a Federally qualified subsistence user, you may sell handicraft articles made from the skin, hide, pelt, or fur, including claws, of a brown bear taken from Units 1-5, 9A-C, 9E, 12, 17, 20, 22, 23, 24B (only that portion within Gates of the Arctic National Park), 25, or 26.
(ii) Prior to selling a handicraft incorporating a brown bear claw(s), the hide or claw(s) not attached to a hide must be sealed by an authorized Alaska Department of Fish and Game representative. Old claws may be sealed if an affidavit is signed indicating that the claws came from a brown bear harvested on Federal public lands by a Federally qualified user. A copy of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game sealing certificate must accompany the handicraft when sold.
(8) If you are a Federally qualified subsistence user, you may sell the raw fur or tanned pelt with or without claws attached from legally harvested furbearers.
(9) If you are a Federally qualified subsistence user, you may sell handicraft articles made from the nonedible byproducts (including, but not limited to, skin, shell, fins, and bones) of subsistence-harvested fish or shellfish.
(10) If you are a Federally qualified subsistence user, you may sell handicraft articles made from nonedible byproducts of wildlife harvested for subsistence uses (excluding bear), to include: Skin, hide, pelt, fur, claws, bones (except skulls of moose, caribou, elk, deer, sheep, goat, and musk ox), teeth, sinew, antlers and/or horns (if not attached to any part of the skull or made to represent a big game trophy) and hooves.
(12) You may sell the horns and antlers not attached to any part of the skull from legally harvested caribou (except caribou harvested in Unit 23), deer, elk, goat, moose, musk ox, and sheep.
(13) You may sell the raw/untanned and tanned hide or cape from a legally harvested caribou, deer, elk, goat, moose, musk ox, and sheep.
(k) The regulations found in this part do not apply to the subsistence taking and use of fish, wildlife, or shellfish regulated pursuant to the Fur Seal Act of 1966 (80 Stat. 1091, 16 U.S.C. 1187); the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (87 Stat. 884, 16 U.S.C. 1531-1543); the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (86 Stat. 1027; 16 U.S.C. 1361-1407); and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (40 Stat. 755; 16 U.S.C. 703-711), or to any amendments to these Acts. The taking and use of fish, wildlife, or shellfish, covered by these Acts will conform to the specific provisions contained in these Acts, as amended, and any implementing regulations.
(l) Rural residents, nonrural residents, and nonresidents not specifically prohibited by Federal regulations from fishing, hunting, or trapping on public lands in an area may fish, hunt, or trap on public lands in accordance with the appropriate State regulations.
Title 50 published on 2015-10-01
The following are ALL rules, proposed rules, and notices (chronologically) published in the Federal Register relating to 50 CFR Part 100 after this date.