NMFS closes directed dusky rockfish fishing in West Yakutat District through year's end

Commercial fishers targeting dusky rockfish near Yakutat lost their directed season Wednesday at noon, when the National Marine Fisheries Service closed directed fishing in the West Yakutat District of the Gulf of Alaska through Dec. 31, 2026.

The closure covers Statistical Area 640, the waters between 140 and 147 degrees west longitude off Yakutat. The 2026 total allowable catch for dusky rockfish there was set at 204 metric tons in harvest specifications published March 11. NMFS divided that into a 150-metric-ton directed fishing allowance and 54 metric tons held back for incidental catch in other groundfish fisheries. NMFS determined the directed fishing allowance has been or will be reached.

"This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2026 total allowable catch of dusky rockfish in the West Yakutat District of the GOA," NMFS Alaska Regional Administrator Jonathan M. Kurland said in the agency's information bulletin announcing the closure.

NMFS waived the standard public comment period. The agency said the catch data that triggered the closure only became available July 21, and that waiting for comment would prevent a timely response and risk overfishing.

Shannon Bettridge, Acting Director of the Office of Sustainable Fisheries, signed the order July 21. It took effect at noon Alaska local time Wednesday.

Fishers working other groundfish trips in the district are not barred from retaining dusky rockfish as incidental catch, up to the maximum retainable amounts set under federal regulations. Directed fishing for dusky rockfish is closed through Dec. 31.