Federal fisheries officials have issued a temporary closure rule on directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher vessels using trawl gear in the Central Gulf of Alaska, extending from Sept. 1 through Dec. 31.
The National Marine Fisheries Service said the action was necessary to avoid exceeding the annual allowance of the 2019 Pacific cod total allowable catch allocated to these trawl catcher vessels in the Central Gulf.
NMFS manages the groundfish fishery in the Gulf of Alaska exclusive economic zone under guidelines of the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska, prepared by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. The federal council’s authority extends from the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
