The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has shut down directed fishing for groundfish other than pollock in the Gulf of Alaska to prevent king (chinook) salmon bycatch.
The ban began at noontime on Sunday, 3 May, and lasts through 31 December 2015. It affects groundfish fishing by non-Rockfish Program catcher vessels using trawl gear in the western and central regulatory areas of the gulf, according to NMFS.
NMFS ordered the shutdown to prevent going over the 2015 chinook salmon bycatch limit.
