December 9, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact Diana Evans at 907-271-2815
Council sets harvest specifications for BSAI and GOA Groundfish for 2026-2027
At its December meeting, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council recommended final harvest specifications (overfishing limit (OFL), acceptable biological catch (ABC), and total allowable catch (TAC) amounts) for all federally-managed groundfish in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) and Gulf of Alaska (GOA) for 2026 and 2027, as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
The Council acted on the advice of its Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), who conducted a thorough review of groundfish stocks based on best scientific information available. Some new groundfish stock assessments had been planned for 2025, but they were not completed due to the government shutdown. As a result, the SSC relied on the most recent peer-reviewed 2024 Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) Reports and the projections for 2026 resulting from those approved assessments, along with new information including 2025 catch reports, ecosystem status information, and contextual information from the 2025 BSAI and GOA bottom trawl surveys.
The SSC carefully reviewed the information for each groundfish stock and stock complex to determine whether additional buffers were warranted from those proposed in October 2025. Their review did not find evidence of additional conservation concerns warranting harvest reductions below current levels, for any of the stocks. None of the groundfish stocks were overfished in 2024 nor was overfishing occurring in 2024 or 2025.
Per federal law, the SSC sets OFLs and ABCs, and the Council cannot set a catch limit (TAC) that exceeds those limits. The National Marine Fisheries Service will now publish proposed and final harvest specifications in the Federal Register.
In a separate action after receiving significant public testimony, the Council requested the Alaska Fishery Science Center update the Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod stock assessment in early 2026, as opposed to waiting until fall of 2026. This could allow the Council to potentially adjust the 2026 catch limit for Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod mid-season in 2026, if warranted by the new stock assessment. The reason for this request is a substantial increase in the recent survey for Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod, which could not be considered during the December meeting because the government shutdown prevented staff from completing the planned stock assessment. Pacific cod is a core species for Gulf of Alaska fisheries, which is utilized by every fishing sector and many communities. Staff will report back in February about the feasibility of completing the assessment early, and any associated tradeoffs with workload and process. If the Council proceeds, the assessment would be scheduled for review by the Gulf of Alaska Plan Team, SSC, and Council consistent with the normal process, but potentially at a special meeting.
The Council also recommended bycatch limits for halibut in the BSAI and GOA, and for crab species and herring in the BSAI (noting that bycatch limits for salmon are already established in regulation.) For herring, a procedural issue arose with the timing of updated information, which limited public review and prevented Advisory Panel review prior to Council action. Therefore, consistent with the approach for groundfish specifications, the Council recommended the approved herring biomass estimate from 2024 be used to set the limits for 2026 and 2027.
While the groundfish harvest specifications process was different this year due to the government shutdown, it was transparent, robust, and used peer-reviewed scientific data, similar to normal years. It is expected that updated stock assessments will be undertaken in the normal cycle in fall 2026, to inform new 2027 and 2028 harvest specifications that will be finalized in December 2026.
Additional resources:
- Council recommendations for GOA groundfish and BSAI groundfish final harvest specifications for 2026 and 2027
- December meeting eAgenda (Items C4 (GOA) and C5 (BSAI))
- Draft SSC Report from December 2025
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council is one of eight regional councils established by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) in 1976 to manage fisheries in the 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone, 3 miles off the coast of Alaska. Per the MSA, the 11 voting members serving on the Council are regional experts appointed by the Secretary of Commerce; designees of the state marine fisheries commissioners from Alaska, Washington, and Oregon; and the Regional Administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service. Federal fisheries decisions must be consistent with the MSA and other federal laws. The Council, along with its advisory bodies, was formed so federal fishery management decisions could be made at a regional level, emphasizing public input.