Registration continues through 5 p.m. on April 3 for the 2017 Prince William Sound area sablefish fishery, with a guideline harvest level of 117,000 pounds for the season opening on April 15.
Only a Prince William Sound sablefish limited entry permit holder possessing a 2017 permit card or their authorized agent may register at Alaska Department of Fish and Game offices in Cordova, Homer, Kodiak and Anchorage, or by appointment with Alaska Wildlife Troopers in Seward and Valdez.
The 2016 harvest of 40,457 pounds was less than half of the 110,500 pound GHL, although an increase compared to the 2015 harvest of 16,910 pounds, the lowest harvest in the history of the fishery, state fisheries biologists at Homer noted.
Beginning in 2015, the GHL has been adjusted by applying the relative change each year in the National Marine Fisheries Service Gulf of Alaska sablefish acceptable biologist catch, which is derived from NMFS stock assessment surveys. This GHL adjustment continues this season.
ADF&G plans to continue to gather more inseason data from the 2017 fishery by conducting more extensive participant interviews. The goal is to get additional information about sablefish recruitment and smaller age classes, catch per unit effort, and the occurrence of targeted sablefish trips and mixed trips for other groundfish species.
These may include post fishing trip phone calls or more thorough interviews at the dock. ADF&G is asked for the cooperation of harvesters to help the agency get a broader view of the fishery this season.
