About
the Council
The North
Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) is one of eight regional
councils established by the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and
Management Act in 1976 (which has been renamed the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act) to oversee management
of the nation's fisheries. With jurisdiction over the 900,000
square mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off Alaska, the Council
has primary responsibility for groundfish management in the Gulf
of Alaska (GOA) and Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI), including
cod, pollock, flatfish, mackerel, sablefish, and rockfish species
harvested mainly by trawlers, hook and line longliners and pot
fishermen.
The Council also makes
allocative and limited entry decisions for halibut, though the
U.S. - Canada International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC)
is responsible for conservation of halibut. Other large Alaska
fisheries such as salmon, crab and herring are managed primarily
by the State of Alaska.