PWS state waters P-cod jig season opens

Port of Cordova, Alaska by Cinthia Gibbens-Stimson/The Cordova Times

New Year’s Day marks the opener for the Prince William Sound state waters Pacific cod season for vessels using jig gear.

All fish must be landed within 24 hours following the closure of the 2017 parallel season and prior to participating in the 2018 state waters season, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

ADF&G announced the opening of the Prince William Sound parallel P-cod season to jig gear on Jan. 1 by emergency order, to coincide with the National Marine Fisheries Service opening of the “A” season for P-cod in the federal Central Gulf of Alaska Area.

On Dec. 27, NMFS announced that directed fishing for P-cod by vessels using jig gear would be prohibited in the Central Gulf of Alaska Area from Jan. 1 through June 10, effectively closing the federal Pacific cod “A” season to jig gear.

The guideline harvest level for Prince William Sound state waters P-cod is 992,080 pounds, allocated 85 percent, or 8453,268 pounds, to longline gear, and 15 percent, or 148,812 pounds, to jig and pot gear combined.

Harvesters are reminded to complete a Prince William Sound 2018 P-cod state waters season registration from ADF&G before fishing.

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Directed fishing for all groundfish species is closed in waters within three nautical miles of two Steller sea lion rookeries in Prince William Sound.

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