NMFS moves 700 metric tons of unused Bering Sea Atka mackerel to the Amendment 80 fleet

The Amendment 80 fleet gets more Atka mackerel in the Bering Sea and Eastern Aleutian district. A National Marine Fisheries Service temporary rule published Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, reallocates 700 metric tons that the Alaska Region administrator determined would not be taken as incidental catch. The action is effective Oct. 16 through 2400 hours Alaska local time on Dec. 31.

The 2026 incidental-catch allowance for the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands trawl limited-access sector and the non-trawl sector in the Bering Sea subarea and Eastern Aleutian district had been 800 metric tons. After this move it is 100 metric tons. The Amendment 80 cooperative allocation for that same area rises from 32,819 metric tons to 33,519. NMFS said every Amendment 80 vessel is in the single cooperative this year, so the sector’s total allowable catch sits with that cooperative. The agency will reissue the cooperative quota permit.

Regional Administrator staff looked at current incidental catch and at the cooperative’s harvest capacity and stated plans. NMFS said the catch data that made the move possible were available as of Oct. 12, which is why the rule skipped advance public comment. Contact is Steve Whitney at (907) 586-7228.

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: Federal Register — Reallocation of Atka mackerel in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (91 FR 65694, Oct. 16, 2026).