Alaska Rockfish Program - Federal Register Rules and Notices

Temporary Rule, Emergency Action:

NOAA Fisheries issues an emergency rule to modify the fishing season start date for fishing vessels participating in a rockfish cooperative as part of the Central Gulf of Alaska Rockfish Program (Rockfish Program) for the 2021 fishing year. This emergency rule is intended to provide flexibility to Rockfish Program participants by moving the fishing season start date from May 1, 2021 to April 1, 2021. This emergency rule does not modify other provisions of the Rockfish Program.

Rockfish Program:

Amendment 111 (86 FR 11895, 03/01/2021) and Amendment 88 (77 FR 28013, 06/26/2012) to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska reauthorized and implemented the Central Gulf of Alaska Rockfish Program to allocate exclusive harvest privileges to a specific group of license limitation program license holders who used trawl gear to target Pacific ocean perch, pelagic shelf rockfish, and northern rockfish during particular qualifying years. The Rockfish Program retains the conservation, management, safety, and economic gains realized under the Central Gulf of Alaska Rockfish Pilot Program and resolves identified issues in the management and viability of the rockfish fisheries.