National Marine Fisheries Service has put the seasonal brakes on two commercial fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska in the wake of one achieving and the other exceeding the total allowable catch.
Both rules by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were published in the Federal Register on Aug. 15.
NMFS moved to prohibit retention of sablefish by vessels using trawl gear in the West Yakutat District of the Gulf of Alaska because the 2017 total allowable catch of sablefish allocated to vessels using trawl gear in the West Yakutat District of the Gulf will be reached. The order is online at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/08/15/2017-17137/fisheries-of-the-exclusive-economic-zone-off-alaska-sablefish-in-the-west-yakutat-district-of-the
NMFS also moved to prohibit directed fishing for Pacific ocean perch in the West Yakutat District of the Gulf to prevent exceeding the 2017 TAC of Pacific ocean perch in that district. The order is online at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/08/15/2017-17133/fisheries-of-the-exclusive-economic-zone-off-alaska-pacific-ocean-perch-in-the-west-yakutat-district
