Regulations adopted at the 2023 Statewide Finfish and Supplemental Issues Board of Fisheries meeting that affect Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet groundfish fisheries will become effective June 25, 2023, (https://aws.state.ak.us/OnlinePublicNotices/Notices/Attachment.aspx?id=141882) and are summarized as follows:
Gear Marking Requirements
Permit holders operating longlined pot gear must have an attached buoy at each end of a groundfish pot longline marked with the permanent ADF&G vessel plate number of the vessel operating the groundfish longlined pot gear and the buoy must have the letters “LP” to designate the gear as longlined groundfish pot gear. The numbers and letters must be marked in the top one-half of the buoy in numbers and letters that are at least four inches high, one- half inch wide, and in a color that contrasts with the color of the buoy [5 AAC 28.050(b)].
Legal Gear
Collapsible groundfish pots (“slinky pots”) must contain two escape mechanism openings in the mesh with each equal to or exceeding 18 inches in length that must be laced, sewn, or secured together by a single length of untreated, 100-percent cotton twine, no larger than 30 thread of which may be knotted at each end only and must be on opposite sides of the pot. If the escape mechanism is placed on the tunnel side, the opening must be in an area that does not include the pot door and within six inches of the edge of the pot [5 AAC 39.145].