Pollock and Cod TAC Announced

Decisions reached during the December meeting of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council in Anchorage will give groundfish harvesters in the Bering Sea a larger allowable catch of Alaska Pollock and less Pacific cod. In the Gulf of Alaska, meanwhile, the total allowable catch for both Alaska Pollock and Pacific cod is down from the 2018 TAC for the coming year.

The Alaska Pollock TAC for the Eastern Bering Sea was set at 1,397 metric tons, up from 1,364 million metric tons in 2018, while staying at 19,000 metric tons for the Aleutian Islands and dropping from 450 metric tons to 75 metric tons in the Bogoslof. The Pacific cod TAC for the Bering Sea meanwhile dropped from 188,136 metric tons to 181,000 metric tons, and in the Aleutian Islands slid from 15,695 metric tons to 14,214 metric tons.

The Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands Arrowtooth flounder TAC went from 13,621 metric tons to 8,000 metric tons. For Atka mackerel I the BSAI the TAC dropped from 71,000 metric tons to 68,500 metric tons, but the Pacific Ocean perch TAC for the BSAI rose from 37,361 metric tons to 44,069 metric tons.

In the Gulf of Alaska, the Alaska Pollock TAC fell from 166,228 metric tons to 141,227 metric tons and the Pacific cod TAC went from 13,096 metric tons to 12,368 metric tons. The Arrowtooth flounder TAC meanwhile rose from 76,300 metric tons to 99,295 metric tons.