PWS P-cod state-waters fishery has 992,080 GHL

The Prince William Sound Pacific cod fishery has opened with a 992,080-pound guideline harvest level, of which 85 percent, or 843,268 pounds is earmarked for longline gear and 15 percent, or 148,812 pounds is allocated to vessels using pot or jig gear.

The opener at noon on Thursday, Feb. 15, came 24 hours after the Prince William Sound P-cod parallel season closed to vessels using pot gear. That closure coincided with the National Marine Fisheries Service closure of the P-cod pot gear sector in the federal Central Gulf of Alaska area. All fish harvested in the parallel season were required to be landed prior to participating in the state-waters season.

When the state-waters P-cod fishery opened last year on Feb. 24, the GHL was 4,338,141 pounds, down from 4,841,902 in 2016. Poor recruitment resulted in fishery management decisions in December to make dramatic cuts in the 2018 GHL.

Area registration for the state-waters season is exclusive, no more than 60 groundfish pots may be operated from a vessel, and each pot must display a buoy identification tag.

A vessel may not participate in a P-cod state-waters season and any other P-cod season at the same time.

Following closure of the parallel P-cod season, all groundfish pot gear must be removed from the water, except for pot vessels registered for the state-waters P-cod season. They may store groundfish pots as provided under state regulations. Groundfish storage provisions allow groundfish pot gear to be stored in waters mot more than 25 fathoms deep om the north side of Montague Island for up to 10 days prior to the opening and 10 days after the closure of state-waters season to pot gear, provided that all bait and bait containers are removed, and all doors secured open at the time the parallel season closes. After the 10-day period elapses, no groundfish pot storage is permitted.

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