Western Gulf pot boats' cod season ends for 2026, two days after they got more fish

Pot boats in the Western Gulf of Alaska can no longer fish for Pacific cod this year. NOAA Fisheries closed their directed fishery at noon Friday, two days after giving them more cod to catch.

Federal managers shifted cod to the pot fleet twice this month, from trawlers that weren't expected to catch it. On Oct. 13 they moved 400 metric tons to the pot boats, and on Oct. 21 another 200. That raised the pot fleet's 2026 share from 2,480 metric tons to 3,080, or about 6.8 million pounds.

The agency's regional administrator determined that share "will be or has been reached," and the closure is meant to keep the pot boats from going over it, according to the rule. The catch data behind the decision only became available Oct. 22, the rule says, which is why it took effect without public notice. The closure runs through Dec. 31.

The rule doesn't report how much the pot fleet has caught. It sets a directed fishing allowance of 2,480 tons, the pot share before this month's two increases, and says that allowance "will be or has been reached." It doesn't explain the gap between that figure and the 3,080-ton share.

Across all gear types, boats had caught 5,630 metric tons of Western Gulf Pacific cod through Oct. 17, according to the agency's weekly catch report. That's 84% of the 6,693-ton quota, leaving 1,063 tons.

Pot boats can still keep some cod they catch while fishing for other species, up to federal limits.

The fleet's A season closed Feb. 1, and pot fishing for Western Gulf cod stayed closed until Sept. 1. In 2019, the Western Gulf pot sector closed Oct. 20 for the rest of that year.

The extra cod came from the trawl fleet. Trawl catcher vessels' share dropped to 1,756 tons after the second shift. The Oct. 13 move also took 100 tons from trawl catcher/processors and raised the share for hook-and-line catcher vessels from 91 tons to 341.