State fisheries officials will close the Prince William Sound Area parallel Pacific cod seasons for pot and jig gear at midnight Dec. 31, with the parallel Pacific cod season to immediately open on Jan. 1 for pot, jig and longline gear vessels.
Harvesters are reminded that all fish must be landed within 24 hours following the closure of the 2016 season, and prior to participating in the 2017 season.
The PWS parallel Pacific cod season closures for jig and pot gear will coincide with their respective closures in the adjacent federal Central Gulf of Alaska Regulatory Area. The PWS parallel season closure for longline gear will coincide with the federal closure of the less than 50-foot hook and line gear sector in the Central Gulf of Alaska.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game reminds fishermen to obtain their PWS 2017 parallel Pacific cod season registration from ADF&G prior to fish.
Participants using pot or longline gear in parallel Pacific cod fisheries must have a functioning, NMFS approved, vessel monitoring system (VMS) as described at https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/fisheries/cwm
Harvesters must adhere to the federal seabird avoidance measures, which are required in all longline fisheries for groundfish in the Outside District of PWS. Additional information on SAM can be found at: https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/pr/seabird-avoidance-gear
The National Marine Fisheries Service is continuing to prosecute and improve the North Pacific Groundfish and Halibut Observer Program.
Vessel operators participating in directed halibut and/or parallel groundfish fisheries inside state waters are being encouraged to become familiar with this federal program. Information on the restructured observer program are online at http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/sustainablefisheries/observers/ or by contacting the NMFS Sustainable Fisheries Division in Juneau at (907) 586-7228.
Directed fishing for all groundfish species is closed in waters within 3 nautical miles of two Steller sea lion rookeries within PWS and certain waters are closed to fishing with groundfish pot gear (Figure 1; 5 AAC 28.250(a)).
For specific regulatory language regarding Stellar sea lion protection areas contact NMFS in Kodiak at
(907) 481-1780 or
https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/fisheries/sslpm
