NMFS closes directed perch fishing in the Western Aleutian district

Directed fishing for Pacific ocean perch in the Western Aleutian district closed at noon Alaska time Friday for vessels in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands trawl limited access sector, and it stays closed through Dec. 31. The sector's directed fishing allowance for the year was 214 metric tons, and the Regional Administrator for the Alaska Region determined that the allowance has been or will be reached. The rule is scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on Sept. 9.

The closure does not prohibit incidental catch. Maximum retainable amounts at 50 CFR 679.20(e) and (f) still apply at any point during a trip, so vessels catching perch incidentally in other groundfish fisheries may retain them within those regulatory limits.

The agency skipped the usual notice and comment step. The most recent harvest data for this sector became available only on Sept. 3, and the National Marine Fisheries Service determined that waiting would be, in the words of the notice, "impracticable and contrary to the public interest." Shannon Bettridge, acting director of the Office of Sustainable Fisheries, signed the order the following day under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

This is the second Aleutian perch shutdown for the same sector in eight days. Alaska News previously covered the Central Aleutian closure that took effect Aug. 27 after that district's 480-metric-ton allowance was reached, and the West Yakutat perch closure in July at 1,923 metric tons. NMFS closed Western Aleutian perch for this sector on this same calendar date, Sept. 4, in 2024.