• Contact Us
  • Subscribe

North Pacific Fishery Management Council

Managing our Nation's Fisheries off the Coast of Alaska

  • Home
  • Meetings
    • Council Meetings
      • Agenda Platform – All meetings
      • Current (or next) Council Meeting
      • Future Council Meetings
      • Archive of Council Meetings
      • Three Meeting Outlook
      • Calendar
  • About
    • Overview
      • FAQ
      • Recognition Awards
      • Management Policies
      • Navigating the Process
      • Staff
      • fisherycouncils.org
      • List of Acronyms
    • Engagement topics
      • Halibut Subsistence
      • Northern Bering Sea Research Area
      • Community Quota Entity Program
  • Membership
    • Council and Committee Members
      • Council Members
      • Scientific and Statistical Committee
      • Advisory Panel
    • Committees
      • List of Committees
      • Bering Sea FEP Climate Change Taskforce
      • Bering Sea FEP LKTK Taskforce
      • Charter Halibut Management Committee
      • Community Engagement Committee
      • Cook Inlet Salmon Committee
      • Ecosystem Committee
      • Enforcement Committee
      • Fishery Monitoring Committees
      • Halibut ABM Stakeholder Committee
      • Halibut Management Committee
      • IFQ Committee
      • Joint Protocol Committee
      • Legislative Committee
      • PNCIAC
    • Fishery Management Plan Teams
      • Overview
      • Groundfish Plan Teams
      • Salmon FMP
      • Scallop Plan Team
      • BSAI Crab Plan Team
      • Social Science Planning Team
      • Bering Sea Fishery Ecosystem Plan
  • Fisheries
    • Halibut
      • Halibut Subsistence
      • Charter Halibut Management
        • Charter Halibut Management Committee
        • Halibut Charter Stakeholder Committee
      • Halibut Bycatch Overview
    • Groundfish
      • Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska Groundfish
      • Groundfish Plan Teams
      • BSAI Groundfish FMP Doc
      • BSAI FMP Appendix
      • GOA Groundfish FMP Doc
      • GOA FMP Appendix
    • Crab and Scallop
      • BSAI Crab Plan Team
      • BSAI Crab FMP Doc
      • Scallop Plan Team
      • Scallop FMP Doc
    • Other FMPs
      • Salmon
      • Arctic
  • Current Issues
    • Habitat Protections
      • Overview
      • Bering Sea Canyons
      • Essential Fish Habitat (EFH)
      • Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (HAPC)
        • HAPC Proposals
      • Northern Bering Sea Research Area
      • Gear Modifications
    • Protected Species
      • Overview
      • Steller Sea Lions
      • Seals
      • Seabirds
      • Walrus
      • Whales
    • Catch Shares Allocation
      • AFA Pollock Cooperatives
      • Amendment 80 Program
      • BSAI Crab Rationalization
      • CDQ Program
      • Community Quota Entity Program
      • Cooperative Reporting
      • Economic Data Reporting
      • GOA Rockfish Program
      • Halibut/Sablefish IFQ Program
      • Pacific Cod Allocations
    • Other Conservation Issues
      • Alaska Marine Ecosystem Forum
      • Aleutian Islands Fishery Ecosystem Plan
      • Bering Sea Fishery Ecosystem Plan
      • Non Target Species Management
      • Observer Program
  • Bycatch Controls
    • Salmon Bycatch
      • Overview
      • BSAI Salmon Bycatch
      • GOA Salmon Bycatch
    • Crab Bycatch
      • Overview
      • BSAI Crab Bycatch
      • GOA Crab Bycatch
    • Halibut Bycatch
      • Overview
      • BSAI Halibut Bycatch
      • GOA Halibut Bycatch
    • GOA Trawl Bycatch
      • GOA Trawl Bycatch Management
  • Publications
    • Publications
      • Research Priorities
      • Scientific Papers
      • Summary Reports
      • NPFMC Newsletters
      • SAFE (Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation) Reports
      • ACEPO
    • Resources
      • Plan Teams
      • Related Links
      • Meeting Minutes
      • Council Mailings
      • NOAA Fisheries Policy Directives
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe

GOA Pollock and Pacific Cod Management

You are here: Home » Newsletters » GOA Pollock and Pacific Cod Management

December 14, 2017

The Council reviewed four discussion papers on the GOA groundfish fisheries. Two papers assessed trends in the timing of Chinook salmon and halibut bycatch in the Western GOA pollock and Pacific cod trawl fisheries, respectively. Another paper considered the efficacy and indirect effects of reducing the 300,000 lb. trawl trip limit for Western GOA pollock as a bycatch reduction strategy. Yet another paper outlined tools and options available to reduce the amount of GOA Pacific cod B season TAC that is going unharvested. After reviewing these four papers, the Council tasked staff to develop two subsequent discussion papers.

The first paper will evaluate changing the seasonal allocation of pollock TAC across areas 610/620/630/640 (Western GOA to West Yakutat), and Pacific cod TAC across seasons. Options are intended to increase the amount of annual TAC that gets harvested, while providing the fleet with additional flexibility to fish when encounters with prohibited species (Chinook salmon and halibut) are expected to be lower. The NMFS Alaska Region Office will track the development of proposed changes in regard to their potential effect on ESA-listed Steller sea lion stocks.

  • TAC for the pollock trawl fishery is currently apportioned equally across four seasons (ABCD), and then apportioned across areas within each season according to estimated biomass distribution. The Council’s options would not change season start/end dates or the process to apportion a season’s TAC across areas. The options include shifting more of the annual TAC to the earlier part of the calendar year (A/B seasons), and/or combining the A/B seasons and the C/D seasons so that the year consists of only two seasonal allocations (Jan. 20 to May 31, and Aug. 25 to Nov. 1). The most dramatic shift under consideration would allocate 60% of the GOA pollock TAC to the A/B season(s) and 40% to the C/D season(s). The Council will also consider increasing the limit on the amount of uncaught TAC that can be rolled over from one season to another (either within the same GOA area or to another area). That limit is currently set at 20% of the seasonal TAC in the area receiving the rollover, but could be increased to 25% or 30%.
  • Pacific cod TAC is allocated to A and B seasons at a 60/40 ratio. The TAC for each season is divided among five gear/operational-type sectors in the WGOA and six sectors in the CGOA. The Council will consider shifting B season TAC to the A season, up to a maximum change of 75% for the A season and 25% for the B season. This change would apply to all gear/operational-type sectors in the WGOA and CGOA, but would not change sector-specific allocations.

The second paper will explore options for vessel length-based limits on participation in the Western GOA (Area 610) pollock trawl fishery. Options include a size limit of 58’ LOA, or a sideboard that caps the participation of vessels greater than 58’ at a maximum percentage of the area’s annual TAC. The Council directed staff to provide information that will help define a reasonable range of options for sideboard criteria, including but not limited to historical harvest during a set of years. The paper will address how such an action might impact processors, communities, and vessel-size classes that participate in the 610 pollock fishery.
Staff contact is Sam Cunningham.

Tagged With: December 2017, GOA pacific cod, GOA pollock

Upcoming Meetings

View Calendar →

Recent Updates

Current (or next) Council Meeting

Archive of Council Meetings

Future Council Meetings

Halibut/Sablefish IFQ Program

Enforcement Committee

  • October 2015 Newsletter
  • June 2015 Newsletter
  • April 2015 Newsletter
  • February 2015 Newsletter

Upcoming Meetings

Past Meetings →

Recent Updates

Call for Nominations

June 2022 Newsletter

Campbell Farewell

CGOA Rockfish Program

BSAI Small Vessel Access

Photo Stream

More Photos →

Newsletters

All →

Subscribe to our Agenda/Newsletter:

Contact Info

View Map →

North Pacific Fishery Management Council
1007 West Third, Suite 400
Anchorage, Alaska 99501-2252
Phone: (907) 271-2809

Return to top of page
Copyright © 2022. North Pacific Fishery Management Council. All Rights Reserved. · Website by Sundog Media LLC · Login