NOTICE OF PROPOSED CHANGES IN THE REGULATIONS OF THE ALASKA BOARD OF FISHERIES

NOTICE OF PROPOSED CHANGES IN THE REGULATIONS OF THE ALASKA BOARD OF FISHERIES The Alaska Board of Fisheries seeks to adopt, amend, or repeal regulation changes in Title 5 of the Alaska Administrative Code through the consideration and acceptance of proposed regulatory changes (“proposals”), dealing with fishery and aquatic plant resources in the areas designated below, including the following regulations: 1. IN THE COOK INLET (INCLUDING THE KENAI PENINSULA, KENAI RIVER DRAINAGE, COOK INLET–RESURRECTION BAY SALTWATER, ANCHORAGE BOWL DRAINAGES, KNIK ARM DRAINAGES, SUSITNA RIVER DRAINAGE, AND WEST COOK INLET SPORT FISH MANAGEMENT AREAS) AND KODIAK AREAS FINFISH FISHERIES REGULATIONS OR OTHER POSSIBLE SUPPLEMENTAL ISSUES, INCLUDING ISSUANCE OF BOARD FINDINGS, DELEGATIONS OF AUTHORITY FROM THE BOARD OF FISHERIES, OR MANAGEMENT OF HATCHERY OPERATIONS; A. In the commercial, sport, guided sport, personal use, and aquatic plant fisheries: fishing seasons, periods, and opening and closing times; bag, possession, size, sex, age, and harvest limits; harvest levels, thresholds, goals, and quotas; definitions; bycatch provisions; districts, subdistricts, sections, subsections, areas, and other management boundaries; locations open and closed to fishing; methods and means; gear and vessel restrictions, including marking and operational requirements;registration and permit requirements; registration areas (including nonexclusive, exclusive and superexclusive registration areas); recordkeeping and marking requirements; management plans for conservation and development, including escapement, inriver, and other management goals; landing requirements; provisions for development and allocation among beneficial uses; guiding principles; provisions to regulate, require, restrict or prohibit the retention, tendering, transportation, dispatch, possession, sale, release, or purchase of fish; methods of release; registration, licensing, reporting, and other requirements for sport fishing guides and operators, guided anglers, catchers, processors, buyers, and transporters; onboard observer requirements; fish storage and inspection requirements. B. In the subsistence fisheries: identification or modification of customary and traditional subsistence uses and amounts reasonably necessary for subsistence; fishing seasons, periods, and opening and closing times; bag, possession, size, sex, age, and harvest limits; definitions; districts, subdistricts, sections, subsections, areas, and other management boundaries; locations open and closed to fishing; methods and means; gear and vessel restrictions, including marking and operational requirements;registration and permit requirements; recordkeeping and marking requirements; management plans for conservation and development, including escapement, inriver, and other management goals; regulations for the subsistence priority; landing requirements; provisions for development and allocation among beneficial uses and users, including creating and regulating tier II fisheries; guiding principles; otherwise establish, regulate, change, or adjust subsistence fisheries. 2. OTHER CHANGES TO TITLE 5 AS NECESSARY TO ACCOMMODATE ANY CHANGES TO TITLE 5 AS DESCRIBED ABOVE SUCH AS CROSS REFERENCES OR OTHER AFFECTED FISHERIES. The proposals are available on the Board of Fisheries meeting information website at https://boardoffisheries.adfg.alaska.gov or from the ADF&G Boards Support Section office at (907) 465-4110. Anyone interested in, or affected by, the subject matter contained in this legal notice should make written or oral comments to have their views considered by the board. You may comment on the proposals and the regulatory changes contained therein , including the potential costs to the private persons of complying with the proposed changes, by submitting written comments by the announced deadlines listed below, limited to no more than 100 single-sided or 50 double-sided pages. Comments can be submitted on these proposals through the Board of Fisheries website at https://boardoffisheries.adfg.alaska.gov and navigating to the page for each specific meeting. The board does not accept written comments sent via email. Comments can also be sent by mail to ADF&G, Boards Support Section, at P.O. Box 115526, Juneau, AK 99811-5526 or by facsimile to (907) 465-6094. The specific comment deadline for each meeting is listed below. Individuals and advisory committees directing public comment at an ADF&G office or personnel other than as prescribed above are advised that such comments may not be received and entered as public comment. ADDITIONAL PUBLIC COMMENT STANDARD: Once the meetings begin, comments will again be accepted online at https://boardoffisheries.adfg.alaska.gov, by hand delivery at the meeting, or via fax to 907-465-6094. Comments submitted during the meetings are limited to ten single-sided pages until proposal deliberations begin. At that time, the board will ONLY accept written comments that are not more than five single-sided pages unless specific information is requested by the board that requires more pages than allowed under this standard. As a practical matter, comments submitted after the board begins deliberations on relevant proposals are likely to receive less consideration than comments submitted earlier. Additionally, groups of people submitting numerous, form-like comments containing similar language during the meeting is not advisable, and Boards staff will be unable to process and distribute the comments to the board during the meeting. These types of comments will be grouped together or summarized for the board in a single submission. Each meeting will generally start at 8:30 a.m. on the first day of the meeting dates below unless the board directs a different start time. The public oral testimony period of each regulatory meeting begins after staff reports and continues until everyone who has registered before the cut-off time which will be announced by the board chair at each meeting. The length of oral statements may be limited to three minutes or less for the public and 10 minutes or less for fish and game advisory committee and regional advisory council representatives. Updates related to public testimony and submitting public comments will be provided via advisory announcement closer to the start of each meeting. Please watch the board’s website for any updates or sign up to receive announcements via email at https://boardoffisheries.adfg.alaska.gov. Beginning in late 2023, the board created a process to receive Traditional Knowledge reports. The board endeavors to incorporate traditional knowledge by seeking and inviting traditional knowledge holders recognized by their community, tribe, or by an organization whose interests encompass the conservation, protection, restoration, or enhancement of fishery resources, to share their experiences, values, alternative and/or independent observations and data collections directly with the board. Pursuant to the board’s policies in 2024-305-FB and 5 AAC 96.621, the board considers Traditional Knowledge to be knowledge, or a way of knowing, that is unique to a given culture or society, and, often through language, encompasses a worldview that defines specific relationships between humans and nonhuman attributes of the world. As knowledge that derives from both personal and the cumulative experiences of one’s forebearers, it is grounded in generational knowledge but also subject to change and refinement. It is characterized by a long time scale. It is usually local in scale and often provides a counterpoint to more broad-based, scientifically produced knowledge. Communities, tribes, or organizations interested in providing a Traditional Knowledge report to the board must provide their nomination to the board’s executive director at least three days prior to the start of each regulatory meeting. For more information, contact Art Nelson at art.nelson@alaska.gov or (907) 267-2292. TENTATIVE MEETING SCHEDULE Work Session October 28-29, 2026 Egan Convention Center, Anchorage Comment deadline: October 13, 2026 Lower Cook Inlet Finfish December 1–4, 2026 AVTEC, Seward Comment deadline: November 23, 2026 Kodiak Finfish January 5–8, 2027 Kodiak Marketplace, Kodiak Comment deadline: December 21, 2026 Upper Cook Inlet Finfish March 4–15, 2027 Egan Convention Center, Anchorage Comment deadline: February 17, 2027 Any changes to meeting locations, dates or times, or rescheduling of topics or subject matter will be announced by news release. Please watch for these announcements in the news media or call (907) 465-4110. Please carefully review the PROPOSAL INDEX available for specific proposals to be addressed by the board. Copies of the proposal indices are in the proposal book, available online at https://boardoffisheries.adfg.alaska.gov, and at the relevant meeting. Any additional proposals will be noticed and made available online and upon request. Anyone interested in or affected by subsistence, personal use, commercial fishing, sport, guided sport, or aquatic plant regulations are hereby informed that the Board of Fisheries may consider any or all of the subject areas covered by this notice. Under AS 44.62.200(b), the board may review the full range of activities appropriate to any of the subjects listed in this notice. The board may make changes to the subsistence, personal use, sport, guided sport or commercial fishing regulations, ensuring the subsistence priority in AS 16.05.258 is upheld. THE BOARD IS NOT LIMITED BY THE SPECIFIC LANGUAGE OR CONFINES OF THE ACTUAL PROPOSALS THAT HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED BY THE PUBLIC OR ADF&G. The language of the final regulations may be different from that of the proposed regulations to conform with regulatory drafting standards and accurately capture the board’s intent. YOU SHOULD COMMENT DURING THE TIME ALLOWED IF YOUR INTERESTS COULD BE AFFECTED. If you are a person with a disability who needs special accommodation in order to participate in the proposed regulation process, please contact Art Nelson at (907) 267-2292 no later than two weeks prior to the beginning of each meeting to ensure necessary accommodation can be provided. The ADF&G, Boards Support Section keeps a list of individuals and organizations interested in receiving emails for regulatory changes and board activities. Those on the list will automatically be emailed a copy of all of the board’s notices of proposed regulation changes. To be added to the list, visit the website at https://boardoffisheries.adfg.alaska.gov or contact ADF&G Boards Support Section at (907) 465-4110. Individuals can also sign up to receive automated notifications of all State of Alaska notices, including public notice for regulation changes, by subscribing to the Alaska Online Public Notices System here: https://aws.state.ak.us/OnlinePublicNotices/Default.aspx. Statutory Authority: AS 16.05 - AS 16.20, AS 16.40 Statutes Being Implemented, Interpreted, or Made Specific: AS 16.05 - AS 16.20, AS 16.40 Fiscal Information: The proposed regulatory actions are not expected to require an increased appropriation. /S/ 10/16/2026 Art Nelson, Executive Director Date Alaska Board of Fisheries ADDITIONAL REGULATIONS NOTICE INFORMATION (AS 44.62.190(g)) • Adopting Agency: Alaska Board of Fisheries. • General subject of regulations: IN THE COOK INLET (INCLUDING THE KENAI PENINSULA, KENAI RIVER DRAINAGE, COOK INLET–RESURRECTION BAY SALTWATER, ANCHORAGE BOWL DRAINAGES, KNIK ARM DRAINAGES, SUSITNA RIVER DRAINAGE, AND WEST COOK INLET SPORT FISH MANAGEMENT AREAS) AND KODIAK AREAS FINFISH FISHERIES REGULATIONS. • Citation of regulations: 5 AAC 01 - 5 AAC 77. • Department of Law file number (if any): • Reason for proposed actions: Implement, interpret, or make specific the provisions of AS 16.05 - AS 16.20, AS 16.40. • Appropriation/Allocation: Natural Resources and all RDUs; OMB Component Number 2048. • Cost of implementation to the state agency and available funding: Due to the large number of proposals, it is not possible to estimate the costs. There are proposals that would have initial and/or annual costs to implement, if adopted. • The name of the contact person for the regulations: Art Nelson, Executive Director Alaska Board of Fisheries PO Box 115526 Juneau, AK 99811-5526 (907) 267-2292 Email: art.nelson@alaska.gov 9. The origin of the proposed action: [X] staff or state agency [X] general public 10. Date: October 16, 2026 Prepared by: Art Nelson, Executive Director Alaska Board of Fisheries (907) 267-2292