Chapter 9. Permit Cancellation

Cancelled Permits

A grand total of 16,619 limited permits have been issued to commercial fishermen. By the end of 2023, 13,748 of these permits remained in place. The net reduction of 2,866 permits was a result of cancellations. AS 16.43.250 required that CFEC develop hardship ranking systems, often called “point systems” to allocate permits and to determine point levels at which a person would experience only minor economic hardship if excluded from an initial permit allocation. Permanent permits issued to persons classified at minor economic hardship level are non-transferable. Over half of the cancelled permits were non-transferable.

Cancellation Reasons

There are many reasons why permits have been cancelled. While the circumstances for each permit cancellation was unique, the below reasons help provide general explanations why they occurred.

  • Administrative Revoke – permit cancellations that are revoked due to some sort of administrative error from licensing in the original issuance of the permit.
  • Buyback – permits cancelled as part of a collective agreement in the fishery to reduce the number of permits that can participate in a limited fishery.
  • Criminal Revoke – the permit is revoked due to some sort of criminal activity on the part of the permit holder which resulted in revocation.
  • Forfeit – the permit is revoked because fees were not paid for a permanent permit for two years. This happens with non-transferable permits when the permit holder decides it is no longer feasible for him or her to continue using the permit for fishing efforts.
  • Lapsed – the permit is revoked due to the fact that the permit holder of a non-transferable permit died.
  • Reconsider - permit cancellations that are revoked due to some sort of administrative error from adjudications in the original issuance of the permit.
  • Relinquishment – The permit is revoked because the permit holder requested that it be revoked.

Chapter 9 Tables

Table 9-01. Permit Cancellations by Cancellation Type, 1975-2023

Table 9-01 CSV download

Table 9-01 tabulates the frequency at which cancellation of permits occurred among both transferable and nontransferable permits.

Table 9-02. Permit Cancellations by Permit Type, 1975-2023

Table 9-02 CSV download

Table 9-02 provides an overview of permit cancellation counts by permit type. Please note that because adjudicating issuance of permits can take some time, some permits are issued well after the initial limitation.

Table 9-03. Permit Cancellation Counts by Permit Type, Residency, and Year, 1975-2023

Table 9-03 CSV download

Table 9-03 further refines these counts to include the year in which the permits were cancelled for each permit type, as well as inclusion of residency of permit holders. Recall that permits can be transferred to an individual with a different resident type then it was initially issued to; permit holders will also sometimes migrate to a different domicile which can also change their residency status.