In Juneau starting Monday, April 25 until midnight on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016, there will be limits on filleting and de-heading certain fish according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Sport Fish.
Marine boat anglers returning to ports where and when on-site ADF&G creel surveys are conducted will be prohibited from mutilating sport caught lingcod, nonpelagic rockfish and king and coho salmon at sea until the fish has been brought to shore and offloaded, unless the fish have been consumed or preserved on board.
The purpose of this restriction is to maximize information obtained through ADF&G angler interview and dockside sampling programs. Southeast Alaska management plans adopted by the Alaska Board of Fisheries require length and sex information for lingcod, length information for nonpelagic rockfish and identification of tagged king and coho salmon, which can only be obtained when fish are intact. On-site sampling is conducted during the fishing season at many harbors to estimate sport fishing effort and harvest, and contribution of hatchery and wild stocks of king and coho salmon to regional sport fisheries.
This action does not prohibit gutting and gilling fish before returning to port. Anglers may fillet and head king and coho salmon, lingcod and nonpelagic rockfish on board a vessel once it is tied up at a docking facility where the fish will be offloaded.
Ketchikan, Craig, Klawock, Sitka, Petersburg, Wrangell, Skagway, Gustavus, Elfin Cove and Yakutat also have this prohibition, but the length of time varies for each community. More on this can be found at adfg.alaska.gov.
