The National Marine Fisheries Service has temporarily reallocated the projected unused amounts of Pacific cod in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands to assure that this year’s total allowable catch of Pacific cod is harvested.
The decision, announced on Sept. 22 in the Federal Register, applies to the Pacific cod fishery in the exclusive economic zone in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area. The reallocation will be in effect through Dec. 31.
The temporary rule reallocates unused Pacific cod from catcher vessels greater than 60 feet in length overall using pot gear and catcher vessels using trawl gear to catcher vessels less than 60 feet overall length using hook-and-line or pot gear, Amendment 80 catcher processors, American Fisheries Act trawl catcher processors, and catcher processors using pot gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area.
The fishery is managed according to the fishery management plan for groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area prepared by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council under authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
The 2015 Pacific cod total allowable catch specified for catcher vessels greater than 60 feet using pot gear in the BSA is 18,641 metric tons. The regional administrator has determined that catcher vessels greater than 60 feet using pot gear in the BSAI will not be able to harvest 1,000 metric tons of the remaining 2015 Pacific cod TAC allocated to those vessels, NMFS said.
The 2015 Pacific cod TAC for catcher vessels using trawl gear in the BSAI is 49,224 metric tons and NMFS has determined that that gear group will not be able to harvest 6,000 metric tons of remaining Pacific cod TAC allocated to those vessels.
Subsequently NMFS has reallocated 7,000 metric tons of Pacific cod to catcher vessels less than 60 feet using hook-and-line or pot gear, A80 catcher processors, AFA trawl catcher processors and catcher processors using pot gear in the BSAI.
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