In July, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game began offering a seven-day crew license for both residents and nonresidents who want to try their hand on a commercial fishing vessel. The short-term permit costs $33 for residents or tourists. That’s half the cost of the $60 full-season license for state residents and well below the $175 fee for nonresidents.

The new license comes after the state Legislature approved the concept, which was pushed by Rep. Carl Moses, R-Unalaska, the bill’s sponsor, as a way to raise money while offering tourists an Alaska “dude ranch” experience.

Glenn Godfrey, a trooper with the Alaska Bureau of Wildlife Enforcement, said a passenger can be aboard a commercial vessel without “participating” in the commercial fishery. Without a license, a passenger on a commercial vessel can still watch and photograph the operation, he said. The passenger cannot, however, fish, drive, navigate or tie up a boat, or pick the fish aboard a vessel, tender or in some processing plants without either a permit or a commercial fishing license.