(a) A person may not waste or cause to be wasted any commercially taken herring.
(b) The Board of Fisheries may adopt regulations under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) it considers necessary for implementation of this section. The board may delegate its authority under this section to the commissioner.
(c) The provisions of this section do not apply to herring taken commercially in the Bering Sea (including appurtenant bays, sounds, estuaries, and water of the state) north of 56° North Latitude, until January 1, 1979.
(d) In this section,
(1) “flesh” means all muscular body tissue surrounding the bony skeleton of the herring;
(2) “person” has the meaning given in AS 01.10.060 and also includes a joint venture;
(3) “waste” means the failure to use the flesh of commercially taken herring for reduction to meal, production of fish food, human consumption, food for domestic animals, scientific or educational purposes, or round herring bait. Normal, inadvertent loss of flesh associated with the uses described in this subsection that cannot be prevented by practical means does not constitute waste. The commissioner may authorize other uses of commercially taken herring consistent with the intent of this section and AS 16.10.172 upon receipt of a request accompanied by a detailed justification.
(e) A person who violates this section is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.