NOAA Fisheries is issuing a final rule to implement 2019 harvest specifications and allocations for Pacific whiting, and to revise reapportionment provisions which implement the nondiscretionary terms and conditions of a recently completed Endangered Species Act Section 7(a)(2) Biological Opinion on salmonids in the Pacific coast groundfish fishery.
The U.S. Pacific whiting Total Allowable Catch for 2019 is 441, 433 metric tons (mt), unchanged from 2018. The 2019 harvest specifications and allocations are as follows:
| Tribal Allocation | 7,251 mt |
| Research and Bycatch set-aside | 1,500 mt |
| Harvest Guideline | 362,682 mt |
The Harvest Guideline is allocated among the non-tribal sectors as follows:
| Sector | 2019 Pacific Whiting Allocation (mt) |
|---|---|
| Catcher/Processor (C/P) Coop Program | 123,312 (34%) |
| Mothership (MS) Coop Program | 87,044 (24%) |
| Shorebased IFQ Program | 152,326.5 (42%) |
The proposed and final rules can be found by searching for docket NOAA-NMFS-2019-0001 at https://www.regulations.gov. After publication, this rule can also be found on the NOAA Fisheries website.
For the shorebased IFQ program, 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.
