Western Gulf of Alaska Pacific ocean perch fishery closes through Dec. 31

Trawl vessels targeting Pacific ocean perch in the Western Gulf of Alaska lost their directed fishery at noon Alaska time Thursday, Oct. 1, after federal managers concluded the fleet would reach, or had already reached, its 2026 allowance. The closure runs through midnight Dec. 31 in Statistical Area 610, between 159 and 170 degrees west longitude.

The 2026 total allowable catch in the area is 1,688 metric tons. The Alaska Region's administrator set 1,508 tons as the directed fishing allowance, the share vessels may target, and held back 180 tons as incidental catch "to support other anticipated groundfish fisheries." That directed allowance "will be or has been reached," the rule said. Perch caught while fishing for something else can still be kept, but only within maximum retainable amounts, caps tied to how much of a vessel's target catch is aboard, which apply at any time during a trip.

No public comment period preceded the closure. The agency said the relevant catch data "only became available as of September 28, 2026," and that notice and comment would be "impracticable and contrary to the public interest." Shannon Bettridge, acting director of the NMFS Office of Sustainable Fisheries, signed the rule Thursday; it is scheduled for Federal Register publication Oct. 5.

The Western Gulf closure is the fourth Pacific ocean perch closure in Alaska federal waters this year. West Yakutat closed July 22, when the agency said its 1,923-ton directed fishing allowance "has been or will be reached," and the Western Aleutian district closed to trawl limited access vessels Sept. 4, Federal Register notices show. The Central Aleutian district closed to that same sector Aug. 27. NOAA Fisheries' species profile lists the Gulf of Alaska stock as not overfished as of its 2023 assessment and not subject to overfishing based on 2024 catch.

NOAA Fisheries reported that the commercial Pacific ocean perch fishery landed 136 million pounds in 2024, worth $22.5 million. Bottom trawls catch most of it, the agency's profile says.

The notice does not say how many vessels were fishing perch in the Western Gulf, how much past or short of 1,508 tons the catch landed, or whether the 180-ton reserve is expected to last through December. The rule is the agency's account alone; its listed contact is Adam Zaleski, 907-586-7228.