2024-30714. Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Inseason Adjustment to the 2025 Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Pollock, Atka Mackerel, and Pacific Cod Total Allowable Catch Amounts

Table 5—Final 2025 Allocations of Pollock TACs to the Directed Pollock Fisheries and to the CDQ Directed Fishing Allowances ¹

[Amounts are in metric tons]

Area and sector	2025 Allocations	2025 A season 1		2025 B season 1
		A season DFA	SCA harvest limit 2	B season DFA
BS subarea TAC 1	1,375,000	n/a	n/a	n/a
CDQ DFA	137,500	61,875	38,500	75,625
ICA 1	46,000	n/a	n/a	n/a
Total BS non-CDQ DFA	1,191,500	536,175	333,620	655,325
AFA Inshore	595,750	268,088	166,810	327,663
AFA Catcher/Processors (CPs) 3	476,600	214,470	133,448	262,130
Catch by CPs	436,089	196,240	n/a	239,849
Catch by Catcher Vessels (CVs) 3	40,511	18,230	n/a	22,281
Unlisted CP Limit 4	2,383	1,072	n/a	1,311
AFA Motherships	119,150	53,618	33,362	65,533
Excessive Harvesting Limit 5	208,513	n/a	n/a	n/a
Excessive Processing Limit 6	357,450	n/a	n/a	n/a
AI subarea ABC	46,051	n/a	n/a	n/a
AI subarea TAC 1	19,000	n/a	n/a	n/a
CDQ DFA	1,900	1,900	n/a
ICA	3,000	1,500	n/a	1,500
Aleut Corporation	14,100	14,100	n/a
Area harvest limit 7	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
541	13,815	n/a	n/a	n/a
542	6,908	n/a	n/a	n/a
543	2,303	n/a	n/a	n/a
Bogoslof District ICA 8	250	n/a	n/a	n/a
Note: Seasonal or sector apportionments may not total precisely due to rounding.
1  Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A), the BS subarea pollock TAC, after subtracting the CDQ DFA (10 percent) and the ICA (46,000 mt), is allocated as a DFA as follows: inshore sector—50 percent, catcher/processor sector (CP)—40 percent, and mothership sector—10 percent. In the BS subarea, 45 percent of the DFA and CDQ DFA are allocated to the A season (January 20-June 10) and 55 percent of the DFA and CDQ DFA are allocated to the B season (June 10-November 1). When the AI pollock ABC equals or exceeds 19,000 mt, the annual TAC is equal to 19,000 mt (§ 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(1)). Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(2), the AI subarea pollock TAC, after subtracting first for the CDQ DFA (10 percent) and second for the ICA (3,000 mt), is allocated to the Aleut Corporation for a pollock directed fishery. In the AI subarea, the A season is allocated no more than 40 percent of the AI pollock ABC.
2  In the BS subarea, pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(C), no more than 28 percent of each sector's annual DFA may be taken from the SCA before noon, April 1. The SCA is defined at § 679.22(a)(7)(vii).
3  Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)( 4), 8.5 percent of the allocation to listed CPs shall be available for harvest only by eligible catcher vessels with a CP endorsement delivering to listed CPs, unless there is a CP sector cooperative contract for the year.
4  Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)( 4)( iii), the AFA unlisted CPs are limited to harvesting not more than 0.5 percent of the CP sector's allocation of pollock.
5  Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)( 6), NMFS establishes an excessive harvesting share limit equal to 17.5 percent of the sum of the non-CDQ pollock DFAs.
6  Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)( 7), NMFS establishes an excessive processing share limit equal to 30.0 percent of the sum of the non-CDQ pollock DFAs.
7  Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)( 6), NMFS establishes harvest limits for pollock in the A season in Area 541 of no more than 30 percent, in Area 542 of no more than 15 percent, and in Area 543 of no more than 5 percent of the AI pollock ABC.
8  Pursuant to § 679.22(a)(7)(B), the Bogoslof District is closed to directed fishing for pollock. The amounts specified are for incidental catch only and are not apportioned by season or sector.

Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(8), table 8 of the final 2024 and 2025 harvest specifications for groundfish in the BSAI (89 FR 17287, March 11, 2024) is revised for the 2025 seasonal and spatial allowances, gear shares, CDQ reserve, incidental catch allowance, jig, BSAI trawl limited access, and Amendment 80 allocations of the BSAI Atka mackerel TAC consistent with this adjustment.

Table 8—Final 2025 Seasonal and Spatial Allowances, Gear Shares, CDQ Reserve, Incidental Catch Allowance, and Amendment 80 Allocations of the BSAI Atka Mackerel TAC

[Amounts are in metric tons]

Sector 1	Season 2  3  4	2025 Allocation by area
		Eastern AI District/BS	Central AI District 5	Western AI District
TAC	n/a	39,000	24,443	18,557
CDQ reserve	Total	4,173	2,615	1,986
	A	2,087	1,308	993
	Critical Habitat	n/a	785	596
	B	2,087	1,308	993
	Critical Habitat	n/a	785	596
( print page 105480)
Non-CDQ TAC	n/a	34,827	21,828	16,571
ICA	Total	800	100	20
Jig 6	Total	170
BSAI trawl limited access	Total	3,386	2,173
	A	1,693	1,086
	Critical Habitat	n/a	652
	B	1,693	1,086
	Critical Habitat	n/a	652
Amendment 80 sector	Total	30,471	19,555	16,551
	A	15,236	9,777	8,276
	Critical Habitat	n/a	5,866	4,965
	B	15,236	9,777	8,276
	Critical Habitat	n/a	5,866	4,965
Note: Seasonal or sector apportionments may not total precisely due to rounding.
1  Section 679.20(a)(8)(ii) allocates the Atka mackerel TACs, after subtracting the CDQ reserves, ICAs, and jig gear allocation, to the Amendment 80 and BSAI trawl limited access sectors. The allocation of the ITAC for Atka mackerel to the Amendment 80 and BSAI trawl limited access sectors is established in table 33 to 50 CFR part 679 and § 679.91. The CDQ reserve is 10.7 percent of the TAC for use by CDQ participants (see § 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(C)).
2  Sections 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(A) and 679.22(a) establish temporal and spatial limitations for the Atka mackerel fishery.
3  The seasonal allowances of Atka mackerel for the CDQ reserve, BSAI trawl limited access sector, and Amendment 80 sector are 50 percent in the A season and 50 percent in the B season.
4  Section 679.23(e)(3) authorizes directed fishing for Atka mackerel with trawl gear during the A season from January 20 to June 10 and the B season from June 10 to December 31.
5  Section 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(C)( 1)( i) limits no more than 60 percent of the annual TACs in Areas 542 and 543 to be caught inside of Steller sea lion protection areas; section 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(C)( 1)( ii) equally divides the annual harvest limits between the A and B seasons as defined at § 679.23(e)(3); and section 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(C)( 2) requires that the TAC in Area 543 shall be no more than 65 percent of ABC in Area 543.
6  Sections 679.2 and 679.20(a)(8)(i) require that up to 2 percent of the Eastern AI District and the BS subarea TAC be allocated to jig gear after subtracting the CDQ reserve and the ICA. NMFS sets the amount of this allocation for 2025 at 0.5 percent. The jig gear allocation is not apportioned by season.

Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(7), table 10 of the final 2024 and 2025 harvest specifications for groundfish in the BSAI (89 FR 17287, March 11, 2024) is revised for the 2025 gear shares and seasonal allowances of the BSAI Pacific cod TAC, CDQ DFAs, and Pacific cod trawl cooperatives (PCTC) DFAs consistent with this adjustment.

Table 10—Final 2025 Sector Allocations and Seasonal Allowances of the BSAI Pacific Cod TAC

[Amounts are in metric tons]

Sector	Percent	2025 share of gear sector total	2025 share of sector total	2025 seasonal allowances
				Season	Amount
Total BS TAC	n/a	133,602	n/a	n/a	n/a
BS CDQ	n/a	14,295	n/a	See § 679.20(a)(7)(i)(B)	n/a
BS non-CDQ TAC	n/a	119,307	n/a	n/a	n/a
Total AI TAC	n/a	8,694	n/a	n/a	n/a
AI CDQ	n/a	930	n/a	See § 679.20(a)(7)(i)(B)	n/a
AI non-CDQ TAC	n/a	7,764	n/a	n/a	n/a
Western AI Limit	n/a	3,173	n/a	n/a	n/a
Total BSAI non-CDQ TAC 1	100	127,070	n/a	n/a	n/a
Total hook-and-line/pot gear	60.8	77,259	n/a	n/a	n/a
Hook-and-line/pot ICA 2	n/a	n/a	500	n/a	n/a
Hook-and-line/pot sub-total	n/a	76,759	n/a	n/a	n/a
Hook-and-line catcher/processors	48.7	n/a	61,483	n/a	n/a
A-season				Jan-1-Jun 10	31,356
B-season				Jun 10-Dec 31	30,127
Hook-and-line catcher vessels ≥60 ft (18.288 meters) LOA	0.2	n/a	252	n/a	n/a
A-season				Jan 1-Jun 10	129
B-season				Jun 10-Dec 31	124
Pot catcher/processors	1.5	n/a	1,894	n/a	n/a
A-season				Jan 1-Jun 10	966
B-season				Sept 1-Dec 31	928
Pot catcher vessels ≥60 ft LOA	8.4	n/a	10,605	n/a	n/a
A-season				Jan 1-Jun 10	5,408
B-season				Sept 1-Dec 31	5,196
Catcher vessels <60 ft LOA using hook-and-line or pot gear	2	n/a	2,525	n/a	n/a
Trawl catcher vessels 3	22.1	28,083	n/a	n/a	n/a
A-Season ICA				Jan 20-Apr 1	1,500
A-season PCTC				Jan 20-Apr 1	19,281
B-season ICA				Apr 1-Jun 10	700
B-season PCTC				Apr 1-Jun 10	2,389
( print page 105481)
C-season trawl catcher vessels				Jun 10-Nov 1	4,212
AFA trawl catcher/processors	2.3	2,923	n/a	n/a	n/a
A-season				Jan 20-Apr 1	2,192
B-season				Apr 1-Jun 10	731
C-season				Jun 10-Nov 1
Amendment 80	13.4	17,027	n/a	n/a	n/a
A-season				Jan 20-Apr 1	12,771
B-season				Apr 1-Jun 10	4,257
C-season				Jun 10-Dec 31
Jig	1.4	1,779	n/a	n/a	n/a
A-season				Jan 1-Apr 30	1,067
B-season				Apr 30-Aug 31	356
C-season				Aug 31-Dec 31	356
Note: Seasonal or sector apportionments may not total precisely due to rounding.
1  The sector allocations and seasonal allowances for BSAI Pacific cod TAC are based on the sum of the BS and AI Pacific cod TACs, after subtraction of the reserves for the CDQ Program. If the TAC for Pacific cod in either the BS or AI is or will be reached, then directed fishing will be prohibited for non-CDQ Pacific cod in that subarea, even if a BSAI allowance remains (§ 679.20(d)(1)(iii)).
2  The ICA for the hook-and-line and pot sectors is deducted from the aggregate portion of Pacific cod TAC allocated to the hook-and-line and pot sectors. The Regional Administrator approves an ICA of 500 mt based on anticipated incidental catch by these sectors in other fisheries.
3  The A and B season trawl CV Pacific cod allocation is allocated to the Pacific Cod Trawl Cooperative Program after subtraction of the A and B season ICAs (§ 679.131(b)(1)). The Regional Administrator approves for the A and B seasons, ICAs of 1,500 mt and 700 mt, respectively, to account for projected incidental catch of Pacific cod by trawl catcher vessels engaged in directed fishing for groundfish other than PCTC Program Pacific cod.