Alaska’s major pollock fishing seasons have closed for 2024, ending on a successful Bering Sea B season that brought the area’s catch totals near their maximum quota allowed.
However, the earlier cancelation of the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (CGOA) pollock fishery's second season contributed to some quota being left in the water elsewhere.
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced on 25 September that all directed fishing in the CGOA region would be halted due to a Chinook salmon bycatch incident. That incident left 49,869 metric tons (MT) of the fishery’s quota in the water as the fishing fleet were forced to stop fishing.
Now, the state’s Bering Sea B Season pollock fishery – the largest in the state in terms of quota – has effectively ended as the fishery reaches its quota limits. Based on preliminary catch totals reported by the Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP), the B season fishery performed well and caught close to the full quota.
According to GAPP, for the full year, the Bering Sea fishery caught ...
