Fishery summary as of May 9, 2008 NMFS Alaska Region Inseason Management Juneau: Andy Smoker 907 586 7210 Patty Britza 907 586 7376 Mary Furuness 907 586 7447 Jennifer Hogan 907 586 7462 Josh Keaton 907 586 7519 Steve Whitney 907 586 7269 (Rockfish pilot program, Amendment 80) Kodiak: Tom Pearson 907 481 1780 Dutch Harbor: Brian Dixon 907 581 2062 Reports Effort report (updated Tuesdays): http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/sustainablefisheries/reports/aeffort.txt Status of Fisheries reports: http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/2008/status.htm Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Pollock The B season opens noon, Alaska local time (A.l.t.), June 10, 2008. Pacific cod Pot and hook-and-line gear Pacific cod NMFS closed the less than 60 ft hook-and-line and pot fishery May 6, 2008 (see Information Bulletin #57. As of May 9, 38 mt remains of the 4,633 mt allocation. The amount remaining may still decrease. The 427 mt jig C season allocation becomes available August 31. NMFS will reallocate the projected unused portion of the jig sector’s C season allocation to the less than 60's at that time. Trawl gear Pacific cod In 2008 there are 4 separate trawl allocations: trawl catcher vessels, AFA catcher/processors, Amendment 80 limited access, and Amendment 80 cooperatives. Catcher vessel The trawl catcher vessel C season opens noon, A.l.t., June 10, 2008, with about 4,398 mt of Pacific cod remaining. Based on catch data from 2005-2007 about 1,500 mt of Pacific cod is necessary for the incidental catch in other groundfish fisheries. This leaves 2,900 mt for a directed fishery. The Amendment 80 cooperative is managing their quota. The AFA catcher/processors and Amendment 80 limited access sector allocations are closed to directed fishing. Atka mackerel In 2008 the Atka mackerel allocations change under Amendment 80. NMFS established HLA limits for the CDQ reserve and each of the three non-CDQ fishery categories as follows: the BSAI trawl limited access sector, the Amendment 80 limited access sector, and Amendment 80 cooperatives. Vessel registration for the B season HLA fisheries are due to NMFS, Restricted Access Management Program, by 4:30 p.m., A.l.t., July 1, 2008. Flathead sole and rock sole In 2008 the flathead sole and rock sole allocations change under Amendment 80. Flathead sole and rock sole are allocated to the CDQ reserve, Amendment 80 limited access sector, and Amendment 80 cooperatives. Yellowfin sole In 2008 the yellowfin sole allocations change under Amendments 80. Yellowfin sole is allocated to the CDQ reserve, BSAI trawl limited access sector, Amendment 80 limited access sector, and Amendment 80 cooperatives. Several catcher/processors are currently targeting yellowfin sole. Aleutian Islands Pacific ocean perch In 2008 the Aleutian Islands Pacific ocean perch allocations change under Amendment 80. In 2008 Aleutian Islands Pacific ocean perch is allocated to the CDQ reserve, BSAI trawl limited access sector, Amendment 80 limited access sector, and Amendment 80 cooperatives. In 2008 there is no seasonal allocation of Pacific ocean perch for these sectors. In the past the fishery opened the first part of July. Greenland turbot and arrowtooth flounder Greenland turbot and arrowtooth flounder opened for directed fishing by non-trawl gear and vessels in the Amendment 80 cooperative May 1. In 2008 the arrowtooth flounder TAC is 63,750 mt compared to the 2007 TAC of 17,000 mt. The 2008 Greenland turbot TAC is 1,488 mt in the Bering Sea and 672 mt in the Aleutian Islands. The incidental catch necessary to support other fisheries is about 700 mt in the Bering Sea and 400 mt in the Aleutian Islands. NMFS may adjust these incidental catch amounts when it gets closer to the closures. In 2007 the Bering Sea closed July 14. The Aleutian Islands remained open all year. Halibut mortality limits In 2008 Amendment 85 allocates the halibut mortality for the hook-and-line Pacific cod fishery between C/Ps and catcher vessels. See the report at: http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/2008/car141_bsai_non_sb_without_cdq.pdf Amendment 80 provides for separate halibut mortality limits among the trawl sectors: BSAI trawl limited access, Amendment 80 limited access, and Amendment 80 cooperatives. Gulf of Alaska Pollock The A season TAC of pollock in 610 is 3,322 mt. The fishery opened January 20 and closed January 22. NMFS reopened the fishery for 24 hours, March 3-4 and again March 7. The fishery remained open through the B season opening on March 10. The B season allocation is 3,321 mt for a total A and B season allocation of 6,643 mt. As of 5/3, about 1,191 mt remains. No vessels are fishing for pollock. The B season closes by regulation at noon, A.l.t., May 31. Areas 620 and 630 are closed for the B season. The C season allocations become available at noon, A.l.t., August 25, 2008. Halibut mortality The 3rd season allocation becomes available at noon, A.l.t., July 1, 2008. For the 3rd season halibut mortality, 55 mt is allocated to the catcher/processors and 115 mt is allocated to the catcher vessels fishing in the Rockfish Program cooperatives. The remaining 229 mt is allocated to vessels not participating in the Rockfish Program cooperatives and vessels in the Rockfish Program limited access and entry level sectors. Through May 3 for shallow-water, 35 mt of halibut mortality remains out of the 550 mt 2nd season limit. As of today (May 9) about 25 mt of halibut mortality remains. Effort during the week 5/10 remains low. NMFS will assess the data on Monday, May 12, for a possible closure announcement. In 2007 the average halibut mortality during May was 28 mt/week, and the fishery closed June 4. Rockfish pilot program (RPP) NMFS posted the allocations at http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/sustainablefisheries/goarat/default.htm Only vessels participating in the Rockfish Program have directed fishing allocations of Pacific ocean perch, pelagic shelf rockfish, and northern rockfish in the Central Regulatory Area. These fisheries are closed to directed fishing for vessels not participating in the program. Fishing opens for vessels fishing in the cooperative fisheries May 1.