Council to take up community quota transfer rules at October meeting in Anchorage

Halibut and Sablefish Quota Rules Return to Council Table This Fall

Rules governing how small, remote Alaska communities hold and move halibut and sablefish quota return to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council as an expanded discussion paper. The council takes up the issue at its Oct. 8-13 meeting in Anchorage's Egan Center.

Community quota entities let eligible communities hold quota so fishing access stays local. Loosening transfer rules could concentrate fishing rights and reduce local control. Federal regulation already limits transfers to non-individual entities in certain cases.

The Alaska Longline Fishermen's Association, in an Oct. 15, 2025, post, said the paper covers the "ability of CQE to assign and manage quota in-season."

NOAA Fisheries invited tribal governments and Alaska Native corporations Friday to consult on that item, on harvest specifications, on a prohibited species catch disposition paper, or on any other federal action tribes deem to have tribal implications. Consultation requests carry no deadline. Tribes can reach the agency at [email protected] or through its online form.

Written public comment to the council closes Oct. 2 at noon Alaska time.