Federal managers close Central Gulf Pacific cod fishing to pot boats for the rest of 2026

The National Marine Fisheries Service closed directed Pacific cod fishing for pot-gear vessels in the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska at noon Wednesday, shutting the sector through Dec. 31, according to its Oct. 5 bulletin.

At a Sept. 8-9 meeting of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council's groundfish plan teams, NMFS's Abby Jahn reported that high Pacific cod prices had helped draw new entrants into the Central Gulf fixed-gear fishery, where full use of the allowance was expected.

The pot sector's 2026 total allowable catch was 5,752 metric tons, or about 12.7 million pounds. Alaska Regional Administrator Jonathan M. Kurland set aside the last 10 metric tons as incidental catch for other groundfish fisheries and found that the pot fleet's directed fishing allowance "will be or has been reached," according to the Federal Register notice.

Vessels fishing for something else can still keep some cod, up to federal maximum retainable amounts, which apply at any time during a trip.

NMFS skipped the usual public comment period, saying the most recent catch data for the sector only became available Oct. 5.

It's the third time this year federal managers have closed the sector. They shut it Jan. 20 and again March 2 to protect its A-season allowance, reopening it Feb. 17 in between. Hook-and-line catcher vessels 50 feet or longer lost directed Central Gulf cod fishing Sept. 1.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game closed the Prince William Sound parallel pot season at the same hour, in coordination with the federal closure. In Cook Inlet, the state-waters cod season, open to all legal gear including pots since Sept. 1, runs until Dec. 31 or until its harvest limit is reached.