Fishing Year 2026 Catch Limits
Framework 72 sets fishing year 2026 annual catch limits for groundfish stocks. Quotas for the U.S./Canada area are shown in Table 1. The 2026 catch limits are listed in Table 2.
Based on the at-sea monitoring coverage target of 100 percent, the management uncertainty buffer has been removed from the sector sub-annual catch limits for all allocated stocks. Sector annual catch entitlements (ACE) are shown in Table 3. Sector and common pool quotas are based on the fishing year 2026 rosters.
Table 1. 2026 Fishing Year U.S./Canada Quotas (mt, live weight) and Percent of Quota Allocated to Each Country
| Quota | Eastern GB Cod | Eastern GB Haddock | GB Yellowtail Flounder |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Shared Quota | 473 | 4,750 | 57 |
| U.S. Quota | 151 (32 percent) | 998 (21 percent) | 31 (54 percent) |
| Canadian Quota | 322 (68 percent) | 3,752 (79 percent) | 26 (46 percent) |
Table 2. Fishing Year 2026 Catch Limits (mt, live weight)
| Stock | Total ACL | Groundfish sub-ACL | Final Sector sub-ACL | Final Common Pool sub-ACL | Recreational sub-ACL | Midwater Trawl Fishery | Scallop Fishery | Small-Mesh Fisheries | State Waters sub- component | Other sub-component |
| A to H | A+B+C | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | |
| EGOM Cod* | 39 | 38 | 37 | 1.4 | 0 | 0.4 | ||||
| WGOM Cod* | 451 | 422 | 294 | 10.6 | 118 | 23 | 5.0 | |||
| GB Cod | 151 | 139 | 134 | 5 | 0 | 12.1 | ||||
| SNE Cod* | 34 | 25 | 6.5 | 0.2 | 18 | 6.1 | 3.2 | |||
| GB Haddock | 4,411 | 4,306 | 4,161 | 145 | 82 | 0 | 22.1 | |||
| GOM Haddock | 3,542 | 3,472 | 2,270 | 57 | 1,146 | 34 | 36 | 0 | ||
| GB Yellowtail Flounder | 31 | 25 | 23 | 1.9 | 4.8 | 0.6 | 0 | 0 | ||
| SNE/MA Yellowtail Flounder | 33 | 29 | 21 | 8.0 | 2.7 | 0.2 | 0.7 | |||
| CC/GOM Yellowtail Flounder | 1,732 | 1,679 | 1,594 | 85 | 17 | 35 | ||||
| American Plaice | 6,967 | 6,933 | 6,712 | 220 | 0 | 35 | ||||
| Witch Flounder | 1,523 | 1,477 | 1,426 | 52 | 7.6 | 38 | ||||
| GB Winter Flounder | 1,710 | 1,668 | 1,587 | 81 | 0 | 43 | ||||
| GOM Winter Flounder | 793 | 689 | 589 | 100 | 96 | 8.0 | ||||
| SNE/MA Winter Flounder | 504 | 398 | 340 | 57 | 25 | 81 | ||||
| Redfish | 5,661 | 5,633 | 5,559 | 74 | 28 | 0 | ||||
| White Hake | 1,361 | 1,354 | 1,339 | 16 | 0 | 6.8 | ||||
| Pollock | 11,164 | 9,880 | 9,771 | 109 | 670 | 614 | ||||
| N. Windowpane Flounder | 127 | 94 | na | 94 | 27 | 0.0 | 6.8 | |||
| S. Windowpane Flounder | 205 | 30 | na | 30 | 71 | 6.4 | 98 | |||
| Ocean Pout | 83 | 52 | na | 52 | 0.9 | 30 | ||||
| Atlantic Halibut | 34 | 23 | na | 23 | 9.1 | 1.6 | ||||
| Atlantic Wolffish | 87 | 87 | na | 87 | 0 | 0 |
na: not allocated to sectors. ACL = annual catch limit, GB = Georges Bank, EGOM = Eastern Gulf of Maine, WGOM = Western Gulf of Maine, SNE/MA = Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic, CC/GOM = Cape Cod/Gulf of Maine, N = northern, S = southern.
*Specifications for EGOM, WGOM, and SNE cod were set by Amendment 25.
Table 3. ACE (in 1,000 lb), by stock, for each sector for fishing year 2026*#
| Sector Name | EGOM Cod | WGOM Cod | GB Cod East | GB Cod West | SNE Cod | GB Haddock East | GB Haddock West | GOM Haddock | GB Yellowtail Flounder | SNE/MA Yellowtail Flounder | CC/GOM Yellowtail Flounder | Plaice | Witch Flounder | GB Winter Flounder | GOM Winter Flounder | SNE/MA Winter Flounder | Redfish | White Hake | Pollock |
| Fixed Gear Sector | 1 | 25 | 32 | 0 | 2 | 27 | 91 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 68 | 35 | 1 | 27 | 8 | 59 | 29 | 569 |
| Maine Coast Community Sector | 14 | 77 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 70 | 232 | 606 | 1 | 2 | 234 | 2,230 | 373 | 30 | 119 | 20 | 1,075 | 388 | 2,724 |
| Maine Permit Bank | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 58 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 179 | 24 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 102 | 50 | 370 |
| Mooncusser Sector | 6 | 60 | 37 | 0 | 2 | 84 | 278 | 218 | 0 | 0 | 132 | 322 | 94 | 0 | 56 | 15 | 695 | 353 | 2,469 |
| NEFS 2 | 22 | 143 | 34 | 0 | 2 | 396 | 1,315 | 1,408 | 5 | 5 | 991 | 2,580 | 716 | 217 | 413 | 57 | 2,843 | 471 | 4,093 |
| NEFS 4 | 10 | 70 | 27 | 0 | 1 | 133 | 443 | 457 | 1 | 1 | 240 | 1,446 | 288 | 26 | 114 | 9 | 832 | 247 | 1,584 |
| NEFS 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 31 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 35 | 35 | 13 | 6 | 13 | 61 | 2 | 1 | 14 |
| NEFS 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 41 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 135 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 138 | 16 | 69 |
| NEFS 8 | 6 | 104 | 105 | 0 | 5 | 903 | 3,000 | 994 | 27 | 13 | 742 | 3,484 | 715 | 2,314 | 78 | 382 | 3,762 | 600 | 4,245 |
| NEFS 10 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 115 | 46 | 20 | 0 | 88 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 16 |
| NEFS 11 | 9 | 49 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 137 | 0 | 0 | 79 | 219 | 47 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 231 | 118 | 1,848 |
| NEFS 12 | 3 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 69 | 0 | 0 | 345 | 237 | 59 | 0 | 187 | 3 | 68 | 27 | 304 |
| NEFS 13 | 0 | 18 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 261 | 869 | 21 | 14 | 13 | 165 | 829 | 193 | 480 | 21 | 97 | 164 | 27 | 202 |
| New Hampshire Permit Bank | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 24 |
| Sustainable Harvest Sector 1 | 5 | 39 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 138 | 457 | 430 | 2 | 2 | 191 | 1,655 | 275 | 338 | 72 | 54 | 1,082 | 328 | 1,433 |
| Sustainable Harvest Sector 2 | 2 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 181 | 276 | 1 | 1 | 154 | 799 | 167 | 23 | 70 | 29 | 720 | 155 | 795 |
| Sustainable Harvest Sector 3 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 90 | 270 | 1 | 2 | 20 | 530 | 109 | 60 | 3 | 10 | 480 | 139 | 781 |
| Common Pool | 3 | 23 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 78 | 242 | 125 | 4 | 18 | 188 | 486 | 115 | 178 | 220 | 126 | 162 | 35 | 240 |
| Sector Total | 82 | 648 | 296 | 0 | 14 | 2,122 | 7,052 | 5,004 | 51 | 46 | 3,514 | 14,798 | 3,143 | 3,499 | 1,299 | 750 | 12,256 | 2,951 | 21,541 |
*The data in this table are based on fishing year 2026 sector rosters, and represent the total allocations to each sector.
#Numbers are rounded to the nearest thousand pounds. In some cases, this table shows an allocation of 0, but that sector may be allocated a small amount of that stock in tens or hundreds pounds.
Common Pool
Framework 72 does not change the daily and trip limits for common pool vessels. The current common pool limits are shown in Table 4:
Table 4. Common Pool Daily and Trip Possession Limits
| Stock | Common Pool Daily and Trip Possession Limits | |||
| DAS permits | Handgear A | Handgear B | Small Vessel Category | |
| EGOM Cod | 25 lb per DAS, up to 50 lb per trip | 25 lb per trip | ||
| WGOM Cod | 50 lb per DAS, up to 100 lb per trip | 50 lb per trip | 25 lb per trip | 50 lb per trip |
| GB Cod | 25 lb per DAS, up to 50 lb per trip | 25 lb per trip | ||
| SNE Cod | 0 lb per trip; possession prohibited | |||
| GB Haddock | 1,000 lb per DAS, up to 2,000 lb per trip | 1,000 lb per trip | 300 lb per trip | |
| GOM Haddock | 1,000 lb per DAS, up to 2,000 lb per trip | 1,000 lb per trip | 300 lb per trip | |
| GB Yellowtail Flounder | 100 lb per trip | |||
| SNE/MA Yellowtail Flounder | 200 lb per DAS, up to 400 lb per trip | 200 lb per trip | ||
| Cape Cod (CC)/GOM Yellowtail Flounder | 1,500 lb per DAS, up to 3,000 lb per trip | 1,500 lb per trip | 300 lb per trip | |
| American Plaice | 3,000 lb per DAS, up to 6,000 lb per trip | 3,000 lb per trip | ||
| Witch Flounder | 1,500 lb per trip | |||
| GB Winter Flounder | 500 lb per trip | |||
| GOM Winter Flounder | 2,000 lb per trip | |||
| SNE/MA Winter Flounder | 2,000 lb per DAS, up to 4,000 lb per trip | 2,000 lb per trip | ||
| Redfish | No Limit | |||
| White Hake | 1,000 lb per trip | |||
| Pollock | No Limit | |||
| Atlantic Halibut | 1 fish per trip | |||
| Windowpane Flounder | Possession Prohibited | |||
| Ocean Pout | ||||
| Atlantic Wolffish | ||||
Recreational Management Measures
Framework 72 does not change recreational measures for cod and haddock. The current recreational measures are in Table 5.
Table 5: Cod and haddock recreational measures.
| Stock | Possession Limit (For Hire and Private) | Minimum Size in Inches | Open Season |
| EGOM Cod | 1 | 23 | September 1 – October 31 |
| WGOM Cod | |||
| GB Cod | |||
| SNE Cod | No retention | n/a | CLOSED |
| GOM Haddock | 15 | 17 | May 1 – February 28/29 and April 1 - 30 |
| GB Haddock | Unlimited | 18 | All Year |
This bulletin serves as a Small Entity Compliance Guide, complying with section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996.
