BSAI Pacific cod trawl season ends early for AFA catcher/processors

American Fisheries Act trawl catcher/processors fishing Pacific cod in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area lose their directed fishing season starting Monday, July 20, and will not get it back for the rest of 2026.

The National Marine Fisheries Service signed the closure Thursday, citing catch data that only became available that same day. The sector's 2026 total allocation was 2,712 metric tons; NMFS carved 2,112 metric tons of that into a directed fishing allowance and held back the remaining 600 metric tons to cover incidental catch in other groundfish fisheries. With the directed allowance reached or projected to be reached, the agency moved immediately to shut the season down rather than wait for the standard public comment process, which it waived on grounds that any delay risked the sector exceeding its annual limit. Shannon Bettridge, Acting Director of the Office of Sustainable Fisheries, signed the order.

Notable in this closure is the waiver of public comment. NMFS is not doing anything unusual in closing a sector when its allowance runs out; that is exactly how quota-based management is supposed to work. NMFS stated that it waived notice-and-comment because the most recent, relevant catch data only became available on July 16, 2026, and that any delay could have led the sector to exceed its annual allocation.

Vessels are not entirely shut out. While the directed closure is in effect, AFA trawl catcher/processors may still retain Pacific cod as incidental catch under maximum retainable amount rules, so cod taken while targeting other groundfish species does not have to go over the side.

A Pattern Across 2026 Alaska Groundfish Management

This closure fits a pattern in 2026 Alaska groundfish management. NMFS shut down Pacific cod directed fishing for trawl catcher vessels in the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska on April 7, and closed the hook-and-line catcher/processor sector in that same area from May 18 through September 1. The BSAI American Fisheries Act trawl fleet is a distinct sector under the AFA cooperative structure, but the sequence of inseason closures across gear types and areas reflects how little slack exists in this year's Pacific cod allocations. Andrew Olson is listed as the contact for further information at 907-586-7228.