Feds move more Western Gulf cod from trawlers to pot boats, second time this month

Federal managers moved another 200 metric tons of Western Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod from trawlers to pot boats at noon Wednesday, the second such shift in eight days.

That's about 441,000 pounds. The National Marine Fisheries Service's regional administrator found that trawl catcher vessels won't be able to catch that much of their 2026 share, while pot boats can, according to the agency's temporary rule. The trawl catcher vessels' share drops to 1,756 metric tons from 1,956, and the pot boats' rises to 3,080 from 2,880, through Dec. 31.

The overall catch limit doesn't change. NMFS said the move is needed so the full 2026 Western Gulf quota can be caught.

The first shift took effect Oct. 13. It moved 650 metric tons in the Western Gulf, taking 550 from trawl catcher vessels and 100 from trawl catcher-processors and giving 400 to pot boats and 250 to hook-and-line boats, part of a 1,000-ton shift Alaska News reported Oct. 9 that also covered the Bering Sea. The Western Gulf's fixed-gear fleets work largely out of Sand Point and King Cove, and its pot boats had landed about 96% of their original allocation by Oct. 3.

Together, the two rules cut Western Gulf trawl catcher vessels by 750 metric tons this month and give pot boats 600 more, about 1.3 million pounds.

It has happened before. Last December, NMFS moved 220 metric tons from Western Gulf trawl catcher vessels. Sara Cleaver, North Pacific Fishery Management Council staff, told the Alaska Board of Fisheries in October 2025 that over the last 10 years, Western Gulf reallocations have typically come from the trawl catcher vessel sector.

In the Central Gulf, pot boats are finished with directed cod fishing for the year. Federal managers closed it to them Oct. 7, finding the sector's allowance had been or would be reached.

NMFS skipped public comment and the usual 30-day wait. It said the catch data became available only Oct. 19 and that a delay would keep the fleets able to catch the fish from harvesting the full quota.