The parallel Pacific cod season is now open to pot and longline gear in Prince William Sound Area E, coordinated with the federal “B” season and gear sector allocations for P-cod in the central Gulf of Alaska regulatory area.
Season closures for pot gear and longline gear will coincide with the federal closures of the pot gear sector and the less than 50-foot hook and line gear sector in the adjacent federal central Gulf of Alaska respectively, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced.
Fishermen participating in the state-waters P-cod fishery with pot or longline gear must deliver their harvest within 24 hours of the closure and prior to participating in the parallel season.
The Area E state-waters P-cod season closed to pot and longline bear on Sept. 1, the day that the parallel Pc-cod season opened to those gear types.
State fisheries biologists also noted that directed fishing for all groundfish species is closed in waters within three nautical miles of two Steller sea lion rookeries within Prince William Sound.
Bycatch limits by species or species aggregate for the Prince William Sound management area parallel P-cod fishery are set by emergency order. For more information on those bycatch limits, contact ADF&G at Homer at 907-235-8191.
