Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Allowable Harvest of Pollock Up in Alaska Groundfish Fisheries

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council has boosted the harvests of pollock in 2014 for both the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands and the Gulf of Alaska.

At its December meeting in Anchorage, the federal fisheries council raised the total allowable catch of pollock for the Eastern Bering Sea from 1,247,000 metric tons to 1,267,000 metric tons, plus 19,000 tons for the Aleutians.

For the Gulf of Alaska, the allowable harvest of pollock rose from 121,046 metric tons to 174,976 metric tons.

For harvesters of Pacific cod, the TAC for the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands was approved for nearly 247,000 metric tons, down from 260,000 metric tons a year ago. That includes 246,897 metric tons for the Bering Sea, plus nearly 7,000 metric tons for the Aleutian Islands. The council also increased the TAC in the BSAI for flathead sole from 22,699 metric tons to 24,500 metric tons, the TAC for Alaska plaice from 20,000 metric tons to 24,500 metric tons, and lowered the TAC for other flatfish from 3,500 metric tons to 2,650 metric tons.

The TAC for yellowfin sole was reduced from 198,000 metric tons to 184,000 metric tons and the TAC for northern rock sole dropped to 85,000 metric tons, down from 92,380 metric tons.

For the Gulf of Alaska, the Pacific cod fishery TAC was set at 64,738 metric tons, up from 60,600 metric tons. That includes 32,745 metric tons for the Western Gulf, up from 21,210 metric tons; 39,825 metric tons for the Central Gulf, up from 36,966 metric tons; and 1,991 metric tons for the Eastern Gulf, down from 2,424 metric tons this past year.


The TAC for sablefish in the Gulf of Alaska dropped from 12,510 metric tons to 10,572 metric tons. The TAC for flathead sole went from 30,496 metric tons to 27,746 metric tons and the TAC for arrowtooth flounder remained at 103,300 metric tons.