Report on Holdings of Individual Fishing Quota by Residents of Selected Gulf of Alaska Fishing Communities 1995-2015

In 2004 (69 FR 23681, April 20, 2004) Amendment 66 was implemented to help smaller communities that have had a decline in quota holdings. The original group of 42 remote Gulf of Alaska coastal communities received approval to purchase, hold, and use commercial halibut and sablefish catcher vessel quota share in the Gulf of Alaska (Halibut Areas 2C, 3A, and 3B and Sablefish area SE, WY CG and WG). These communities are eligible to form a non-profit entity (Community Quota Entity, or CQE) to hold and lease the quota to individual community residents. This amendment was developed to assist a number of small coastal communities in Southeast and Southcentral Alaska to increase or maintain their participation in the commercial halibut and sablefish fisheries.

As the halibut and sablefish IFQ Program increased the cost of entry and expansion in these commercial fisheries also increased. Several years after implementation, some larger Gulf communities appear to have benefited from the program and continue to increase their participation in the IFQ fisheries, while other smaller communities have experienced a significant decline in participation. The Council began considering amendments for communities in the commercial IFQ Program in June 2000, motivated by several provisions in the Magnuson Stevens Act, recommendations by the National Research Council, and a proposal from the Gulf of Alaska Coastal Communities Coalition.