Federal managers shift 700 tons of Atka mackerel to Bering Sea trawl cooperative

Federal managers will shift 700 metric tons of unused Atka mackerel to the sole Amendment 80 trawl cooperative operating in the Bering Sea and Eastern Aleutians, under a temporary rule set for publication Friday, Oct. 16.

Amendment 80 vessels are trawl catcher-processors that target groundfish other than pollock in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands.

The move raises the cooperative's 2026 allocation from 32,819 tons to 33,519 tons. It cuts the incidental catch allowance from 800 tons to 100 tons. That allowance is set aside for trawl and non-trawl fleets that catch Atka mackerel while targeting other species. The area's overall 2026 catch limit is 41,731 tons. The rule runs through midnight, Alaska time, Dec. 31.

The National Marine Fisheries Service's Alaska regional administrator found that 700 tons of the allowance will not be harvested, based on current catch and the cooperative's harvest capacity and stated plans. "This action is necessary to allow the 2026 total allowable catch (TAC) of Atka mackerel in the BS/EAI to be fully harvested," the rule says. Shannon Bettridge, acting director of the agency's Office of Sustainable Fisheries, signed it Oct. 14.

The agency's catch report through Oct. 10 shows fleets had taken 66 tons of the 800-ton incidental allowance. The eastern area's trawl account stood at 27,767 of 36,283 tons, including 2,527 tons caught in the most recent week. Central and Western Aleutian trawl quotas are effectively full.

NMFS waived advance notice, public comment and the usual 30-day delay, saying the catch data it relied on did not arrive until Oct. 12, too late to allow for comment before the season ends.

The agency made the same 700-ton transfer in 2023 and 2024, and a 609-ton transfer in 2022.

The cooperative holds the entire sector allocation, and NMFS will reissue its quota permit to reflect the added tons. Eligible participants must apply by Nov. 1, which will set how 2027 allocations split between cooperatives and the Amendment 80 limited access fishery.