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National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Regional Office

Central Gulf of Alaska (GOA) Rockfish Program

About the Central GOA Rockfish Program

Kodiak harbor
Kodiak Harbor. Photo: NOAA Fisheries

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council adopted the Central Gulf of Alaska Rockfish Program (Rockfish Program) on June 14, 2010, to replace the expiring Pilot Program. The Rockfish Program became effective in 2011 and fishing under it began in 2012.

The rockfish fisheries are conducted in Federal waters near Kodiak, Alaska, by trawl and longline vessels. The Rockfish Program allocates harvest privileges to holders of License Limitation Program (LLP) groundfish licenses with a history of Central GOA rockfish legal landings in either 2000 through 2006, or the entry level trawl fishery in 2007, 2008, or 2009.

The Rockfish Program assigns quota share (QS) to LLP licenses for rockfish primary and secondary species based on legal landings associated with that LLP. Primary rockfish species are northern rockfish, Pacific ocean perch, and pelagic shelf rockfish. Secondary rockfish species are Pacific cod, rougheye rockfish, shortraker rockfish, sablefish, and thornyhead rockfish.

Each year, an LLP license holder assigns the LLP license with rockfish QS to a rockfish cooperative. Each rockfish cooperative receives an annual cooperative fishing quota (CQ), which is an amount of primary and secondary rockfish species the cooperative is able to harvest in that fishing year. Halibut Prohibited Species Catch (PSC) is also allocated to participants based on historic halibut mortality rates in the primary rockfish species fisheries. Shore-based processors receiving rockfish CQ must be located within the boundaries of the City of Kodiak. The rockfish cooperative fishing season is authorized May 1 through November 15 of each year. An entry level fishery starts January 1 of each year for harvesters who are directed fishing for rockfish primary species using longline gear only.

Catcher/processor LLP license holders may opt-out of the Rockfish Program but are subject to certain sideboard limitations, which prevent rockfish eligible harvesters from increasing their participation in fisheries other than the Central GOA rockfish fisheries.

Rockfish Program

FISHERY INFORMATION

Overview


Applications


Reporting


Fee Payment

  • Online Payment
  • The 2012 cost recovery fee percentage is 1.4%. Payments due by February 15.

Participants


Allocations


Catch Weighing and Monitoring


Related Information


Regulations

  • 76 FR 81248, December 27, 2011. Regulations to implement Amendment 88 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska. Amendment 88 is the Central Gulf of Alaska Rockfish Program. These regulations allocate exclusive harvest privileges to a specific group of license limitation program license holders who used trawl gear to target Pacific ocean perch, pelagic shelf rockfish, and northern rockfish during particular qualifying years. Effective December 27, 2011.
  • 74 FR 42178, August 21, 2009. Final rule to implement BSAI Amendment 90 and GOA Amendment 78 to amend the BSAI Amendment 80 Program and the Central GOA Rockfish Program to allow post-delivery transfers of cooperative quota to cover overages. Effective September 21, 2009.
  • 50 CFR Part 679: Rockfish Program

Contact Information

For cost recovery fee payment or balance questions, contact Troie Zuniga, 1-800-304-4846 - option #5, or (907) 586-7105, or email: Troie.Zuniga@noaa.gov.

For rockfish quota balances or inseason management questions, contact Steve Whitney, 1-800-304-4846 - option #3, or (907) 586-7269, or email: Steven.Whitney@noaa.gov.

For GOA Rationalization or Rockfish Program information, contact Gwen Herrewig, 1-800-304-4846 - option #3, or (907) 586-7091, or email: Gwen.Herrewig@noaa.gov.



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