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Central Gulf of Alaska Rockfish Permit Program
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The North Pacific Fishery Management Council adopted the Central Gulf of Alaska Rockfish
Program (Rockfish Program) on June 14, 2010, to replace the expiring Pilot Program.
The Rockfish Program became effective in 2011 and fishing under it began in 2012.
The rockfish fisheries are conducted in Federal waters near Kodiak, Alaska, by trawl
and longline vessels. The Rockfish Program allocates harvest privileges to holders
of License Limitation Program (LLP) groundfish licenses with a history of Central
GOA rockfish legal landings in either 2000 through 2006, or the entry level trawl
fishery in 2007, 2008, or 2009.
The Rockfish Program assigns quota share (QS) to LLP licenses for rockfish primary
and secondary species based on legal landings associated with that LLP. Primary rockfish
species are northern rockfish, Pacific ocean perch, and pelagic shelf rockfish. Secondary
rockfish species are Pacific cod, rougheye rockfish, shortraker rockfish, sablefish,
and thornyhead rockfish.
Each year, an LLP license holder assigns the LLP license with rockfish QS to a rockfish
cooperative. Each rockfish cooperative receives an annual cooperative fishing quota
(CQ), which is an amount of primary and secondary rockfish species the cooperative
is able to harvest in that fishing year. Halibut Prohibited Species Catch (PSC) is
also allocated to participants based on historic halibut mortality rates in the primary
rockfish species fisheries. Shore-based processors receiving rockfish CQ must be located
within the boundaries of the City of Kodiak. The rockfish cooperative fishing season
is authorized May 1 through November 15 of each year. An entry level fishery starts
January 1 of each year for harvesters who are directed fishing for rockfish primary
species using longline gear only.
Catcher/processor LLP license holders may opt-out of the Rockfish Program but are
subject to certain sideboard limitations, which prevent rockfish eligible harvesters
from increasing their participation in fisheries other than the Central GOA rockfish
fisheries.
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