Fishery summary as of September 28, 2008 NMFS Alaska Region Inseason Management Juneau: Mary Furuness 907 586 7447 Patty Britza 907 586 7376 Obren Davis 907 586 7241 Josh Keaton 907 586 7519 Steve Whitney 907 586 7269 (Rockfish pilot program, Amendment 80) Kodiak: Tom Pearson 907 481 1780 Dutch Harbor: Brian Dixon 907 581 2062 Reports Effort report (updated Tuesdays): http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/sustainablefisheries/reports/aeffort.txt Status of Fisheries reports: http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/2008/status.htm The Outlooks this week is the Inseason Management report for the Council meeting next week. National Marine Fisheries Service September 26, 2008 Alaska Region - Inseason Management Highlights 2008 data is through September 20. Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Bering Sea pollock Seventeen catcher processors, 80 catcher vessels delivering to seven inshore processors, and three motherships caught 93% or 807,702 mt of the 868,500 mt non-Community Development Quota (CDQ) directed fishing allocation. The amounts remaining are: 29,000 mt for catcher processors, 11,200 mt for motherships, and 20,700 mt for inshore. The CDQ fishery has taken 98% of their 100,000 mt allocation. In 2008, the non American Fisheries Act (AFA) trawl catcher processors caught 15,600 mt of BSAI pollock compared to 21,000 in 2007. The 2008 retention rate of 84% is higher than the 2007 rate of 58%. Salmon The Chinook salmon savings area remains open. The chum salmon savings area is expected to remain open until the last date a closure could be triggered on October 14. Total 2008 salmon prohibited species catch (PSC) in the BSAI from all gear types including CDQ as of September 20. Species 2006 2007 2008 Chinook 87,021 129,448 19,494 Non-Chinook 323,987 97,177 13,986 Trawl catcher processor flatfish In 2008, based on observer data the Amendment 80 catcher processors retained 89% of their 266,000 mt of BSAI groundfish total catch. This compares to groundfish retention of 77% of 293,000 mt in 2007, 78% of 280,000 mt in 2006, 78% of 285,000 mt in 2005, 67% of 300,000 mt in 2004, and 70% of 268,000 mt in 2003. The 2008 arrowtooth flounder, flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole catch by all gear types is about 24% higher than the 2004 to 2007 average annual catch for each species. In 2008, 21 non-AFA catcher processors, 12 AFA catcher processors, and four catcher vessels targeted yellowfin sole. In 2007, 21 non-AFA catcher processors, eight AFA catcher processors, and four catcher vessels participated. Yellowfin sole remains open for the Amendment 80 limited access and BSAI trawl limited access sectors. Arrowtooth flounder and Greenland turbot Greenland turbot and arrowtooth flounder directed fisheries opened for non-trawl gear and trawl catcher processors in the Amendment 80 cooperative May 1. Amendment 80 allows for the cooperative vessels to participate in the directed fisheries. In June and July, 5 hook-and-line catcher processors caught 560 mt in the directed fishery compared to 8 catcher processor catching 850 mt in 2007. The Bering Sea Greenland turbot total allowable catch was exceeded because of changes to the catch data after the closure. NMFS prohibited retention August 19, 2008. Atka mackerel and northern rockfish Eight catcher processors and one catcher vessel registered for the B season harvest limitation area (HLA) fisheries. NMFS reallocated 1,300 mt from the Eastern Aleutian Islands/Bering Sea incidental catch allowance to the Amendment 80 cooperative B season allocation. In the Aleutian Islands Atka mackerel target, northern rockfish catch decreased to 1,808 in 2008 from 3,385 mt in 2007, 2,900 in 2006, 3,299 mt in 2005, 3,896 mt in 2004, and 4,239 mt in 2003. Retention rates of northern rockfish increased to 37% in 2008 from 20% in 2007, 21% in 2006, 19% in 2005, 6% in 2004, and 3% in 2003. Pacific cod Hook-and-line catcher processors The hook-and-line catcher processors fishery opened August 15 and is projected to close around October 29 at the current rate of 450 mt/day. However, NMFS expects this rate to fluctuate as the fishery continues. As of September 20, 40 catcher processors have caught 17,900 mt of the 35,402 mt available for the B season. In the 2007 B season, 37 catcher processors caught the 28,400 mt B season amount and the fishery closed October 2. Pot catcher vessels >= 60 feet length overall (LOA) The pot gear fishery opened September 1 with 6,142 mt remaining for the B season. Twenty-two catcher vessels have taken 2,852. At the current rate of 1,000 mt/week the fishery is projected to close around October 11. In 2007, 20 catcher vessels >= 60 ft caught 3,414 mt and the fishery closed September 28, 2007. Then the fishery reopened from October 2 to 18, 2007 catching 434 mt. Forty-three vessels have delivered 9,400 mt in 2008, and 46 vessels delivered 13,372 mt in 2007. Pot catcher processors The pot catcher processors fishery opened September 1 and closed September 19. As of September 20, five catcher processors caught the 1,067 mt B season allocation. Four catcher processors continue to fish in State waters after the closure and NMFS will count their catch against the pot catcher vessel >= 60 ft allocation. In 2007, three catcher processors caught 1,040 mt of Pacific cod, and the B season closed September 28, 2007. Hook-and-line catcher vessels >= 60 ft LOA No catcher vessels >= 60 ft fished for this Pacific cod allocation. Therefore NMFS reallocated the 150 mt to the jig fishery and 153 mt to catcher vessels < 60 ft using hook-and-line or pot gear. Hook-and-line and pot catcher vessels less than 60 ft length overall The 2008 allocation of Pacific cod to catcher vessels < 60 ft using hook-and-line or pot gear under the final specifications is 3,033 mt. Transfers from the jig and >= 60 ft hook-and-line allocations made an additional 2,177 mt available. The fishery opened January 1 and closed March 21, opened April 30 and closed May 6, and opened September 12. The fishery remains open. As of September 20 sixteen hook-and-line vessels have caught 780 mt and 15 pot vessels have caught 3,950 mt. Jig gear Fifteen catcher vessels caught 176 mt of Pacific cod. The fishery started in May and June when weekly catch rates averaged 9 mt. After the closure of the Aleutian Islands State waters only fishery the catch rates increased to an average of 25 mt/week, but then decreased to an average of 6 mt/week starting the end of August. Ten vessels caught 89 mt in 2007, 12 vessels caught 89 mt in 2006, 19 vessels caught 117 mt in 2005, 16 vessels caught 230 mt in 2004, and 15 vessels caught 156 mt in 2003. Trawl catcher processors The Amendment 80 cooperative is managing their quota. The AFA catcher/processors and Amendment 80 limited access sector allocations are closed to directed fishing. Trawl catcher vessels There has been minimal directed fishing in the C season fishery and 3,126 mt remains. The incidental catch in the pollock fishery is about 85 mt/week. Based on this rate about 300 mt of Pacific cod is necessary for the remaining pollock fishery. This leaves 2,800 mt for a directed fishery. At this time there is no projected closure date for the directed fishery except for the regulatory closure at noon, November 1. Any amount available for a rollover to other sectors would follow this order: (1) jig gear or < 60 ft hook-and-line/pot catcher vessels, (2) >= 60 ft pot or hook-and-line catcher vessels, (3) AFA trawl or non-AFA trawl catcher processors, (4) hook-and-line catcher processors. Halibut mortality limits Trawl gear The 2008 total trawl halibut mortality is 2,076 mt compared the 2007 amount for the same time period of 3,256 mt. For the remainder of 2007 only 50 mt of halibut mortality accrued in the pollock and Atka mackerel targets. Most of the decrease in 2008 is from the Pacific cod target (700 mt), followed by rock sole/flathead sole/ other flatfish and yellowfin sole targets. The pollock fishery total is 268 mt (56% from catcher processors and 44% from catcher vessels). Hook-and-line gear In 2008 the halibut mortality from the hook-and-line catcher processor B season Pacific cod fishery is slightly lower at about 32 mt per week compared to in 2007 at 42 mt per week. In 2008 Amendment 85 allocates the halibut mortality for the hook-and-line Pacific cod fishery between catcher processors and catcher vessels. Total catch and optimum yield So far in 2008, 75% of the 1,838,345 mt total allowable catch has been taken. In 2007 94% of the 2 million optimum yield was caught. In each year from 2004 to 2006, 99% of the 2 million optimum yield was caught. Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod The B season inshore and offshore Pacific cod fisheries in the Western and Central GOA opened September 1. In 2008 the inshore Central GOA fishery is expected close the first week of October, but the inshore Western GOA may remain open until the end of the year. In 2005 to 2007, all the B season fisheries remained open until December 31 for non-trawl gear. Western GOA Inshore Pacific cod The annual total catch is 11,536 mt leaving 5,968 mt. As of September 20, the B season the total catch is 880 mt mostly from pot (76%) and hook-and-line gear (18%). Offshore Pacific cod A total of 1,424 mt of the 2,025 mt annual total allowable catch (TAC) has been caught. Central GOA Inshore Pacific cod The annual total catch is 22,151 mt leaving 3,432 mt. As of September 20, the B season the total catch is 4,700 mt in the Pacific cod target. The B season catch by gear is 1% from jig vessels, 15% from pot vessels, 61% from trawl vessels, and 23% from hook-and-line vessels. Offshore Pacific cod The total catch for the year is 1,788 mt of a 2,843 mt TAC. Rockfish Western GOA During July and August, nine catcher processors took 3,500 mt of Pacific ocean perch, 1,600 mt of northern rockfish, and 500 mt of pelagic shelf rockfish. Shoreside effort remained low. The Pacific ocean perch fishery closed July 4 and opened July 14 to 18, northern rockfish closed July 7 and opened July 14, and pelagic shelf rockfish closed remains open. Central GOA As in 2007, two catcher processor cooperatives with five vessels were formed. Seven (four in 2007) catcher processors and two (three in 2007) catcher vessels elected to participate in the limited access fisheries. Four (seven in 2007) catcher processors elected to participate in opt out fishery. In 2008, 44 catcher vessels joined one of the five inshore rockfish cooperatives, and 25 vessels fished in the program. Also, five catcher vessels registered for the entry level fishery and three actively fished. In 2007, 43 catcher vessels joined one of the five rockfish inshore cooperatives, and 28 vessels fished in the program. Also, three vessels registered for the entry level fishery and two actively fished. In 2006, five catcher processors and 25 trawl catcher vessels targeted rockfish in the Central GOA. In 2008, like 2007, the catcher vessel cooperatives primarily fished their quotas when other fisheries were closed. The result is a more even rate of harvest compared to 2006. Pollock The pollock C season opened August 25, and the D season opens October 1 in the Western and Central GOA. After adjusting for overages and underages earlier in the year, the C season apportionments of TAC were 5,746 mt for area 610, 694 mt for area 620, and 3,596 mt for area 630. The C seasons closed September 4 in Area 610 and September 6 in Area 620. Area 630 closed August 26, 2008, reopened September 1, and closed September 19. The D season fisheries open at noon, October 1. Flatfish So far in 2008, non-pelagic trawl gear has taken about 36,938 mt of flatfish (34% from catcher processors and 66% from catcher vessels). This compares to 37,500 mt in 2007, 38,800 mt in 2006, 26,900 mt in 2005, 34,700 mt in 2004, and 40,900 mt in 2003. Most of the catch is from arrowtooth flounder (68%) and shallow water flatfish (17%). Halibut bycatch mortality Trawl gear Trawling for the shallow-water and deep-water species complexes opened July 1. The deep-water species fishery closed September 11. The shallow water fisheries opened for September 1 to 3 and September 10 to 11. The remaining 280 mt of halibut mortality to becomes available October 1. NMFS will manage the October allocation of trawl halibut mortality inseason. Hook-and-line gear The hook-and-line fishery for groundfish remains open. As of September 20, the remaining halibut mortality is 64 mt.