Alaska Catch Accounting System

The Alaska Region manages about 600 separate groundfish quotas and prohibited species catch limits in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska. Each year, accounts are established in the Alaska Catch Accounting System (CAS) that match the annual harvest specification tables. A combination of observer data, dealer landing reports, and at-sea production reports are used to provide an integrated source for fisheries monitoring and in-season decision making. The system allows catch reporting from multiple data sources without duplication and estimates prohibited species catch and at-sea discards.

The purpose of the Catch Accounting System is to:

• Manage groundfish in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska
• Establish accounts that match the Annual Harvest Specification tables
• Allow catch reporting from multiple data sources without duplication
• Debit reported catch from the appropriate account
• Estimate prohibited species catch and at-sea discards

An important aspect of the CAS is to provide near real-time delivery of accurate data for Inseason Management decisions. To meet this objective, data from industry is reported through the Electronic Reporting System and is fed into the NMFS database every hour. Data from observers is sent to the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) electronically and is transmitted into the CAS every night.

Related Information

• Catch Accounting Diagram
• Electronic Reporting System
• Catch Reports and Harvest Specification Tables
• Groundfish Fisheries Inseason Management and Catch Accounting
• Information Bulletins
• Fisheries Regulations

For more information about NOAA Fisheries' catch accounting system, please contact: Jennifer Mondragon: (907) 586-7010, Email: Jennifer.Mondragon@noaa.gov.