NOAA Fisheries is issuing a final rule to implement 2018 catch limits for Pacific whiting, effective May 15. The catch limits are based on recommendations of the international Pacific Whiting Joint Management Committee, or JMC.
Catch limits for 2018 are unchanged from 2017. The U.S. Pacific whiting Total Allowable Catch for 2018 is 441,433 metric tons (mt). The 2018 harvest specifications and allocations are as follows:
| Tribal Allocation: | 77,251 mt |
| Research and Bycatch set-aside: | 1,500 mt |
| Harvest Guideline: | 362,682 mt |
The Harvest Guideline is allocated per 50 CFR 660.55 (f)(2) among the non-tribal catcher/processor, mothership, and shorebased sectors as follows:
| Catcher/Processor Coop Program: | 123,312 mt (34%) |
| Mothership Coop Program: | 87,044 mt (24%) |
| Shorebased IFQ Program: | 152,326.5 mt (42%) |
Please refer to the Federal Register Notice for more information about the final rule establishing these allocations.
The proposed and final rules can also be found by searching for docket NOAA-NMFS-2017-0160 at https://www.regulations.gov.
For the shore-based sector, NOAA Fisheries plans to add Pacific whiting to quota share accounts immediately. Once these pounds have been added, we will post a message on the IFQ homepage to notify account owners.
Any discrepancies between this Public Notice and the Federal Register will be resolved in favor of the Federal Register.
