Central Gulf of Alaska Rockfish Permit Program

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.