A guideline harvest level of 133,000 pounds is set for the 2018 Prince William Sound area sablefish fishery, which opens on April 15. Any permit holder who fails to register by the April 2 deadline will not allotted a share of the quota.
Only Prince William Sound sablefish limited entry permit holders with a 2018 permit card or their authorized agent may register, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
Registration and log sheets are available at ADF&G offices in Cordova, Homer, Anchorage and Kodiak, and by appointment with Alaska Wildlife Troopers in Seward and Valdez.
ADF&G also advised that PWS sablefish permit holders that recipients of a permanent or emergency transfer must re-register with the department prior to fishing.
While last year’s harvest of 73,113 pounds was just 62 percent of the 117,000-pound GHL, it was an increase over the 2016 harvest off 40,457 pounds and 2015 harvest of 16,910 pounds, the lowest harvest in the history of the fishery.
Since 2015, the GHL has been adjusted by applying the relative change each year in the National Marine Fisheries Service Gulf of Alaska sablefish acceptable biological catch, which is derived from NMFS stock assessment surveys, biologists said.
The department plans to continue to conduct more extensive participant interviews to gather more in-season information from the 2018 fishery.
