Federal officials close Pacific cod fishing in the Gulf of Alaska

Federal regulators have moved to sharply restrict Pacific cod fishing in the Gulf of Alaska, closing key sectors of the fleet and tightening catch limits in federal waters. The decision reshapes one of the region’s most valuable groundfish fisheries and raises fresh questions about how to balance coastal economies, stock health, and protections for endangered species.

Rather than a single sweeping announcement, the closure has unfolded through a series of targeted actions that together amount to a near shutdown of directed cod fishing in large parts of the Gulf of Alaska. Those measures, centered on the National Marine Fisheries Service and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, now define how and whether boats can pursue Pacific cod in 2026.

How federal regulators moved to shut down directed cod fishing

The National Marine Fisheries Service, often referred to as NMFS, has used its authority under federal fishery regulations to halt directed fishing for Pacific cod by multiple fleet segments in the Gulf of Alaska. In one action, described in the Federal Register as part of the fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska, the AGENCY National Marinewithin the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, and Commerce, formally addressed Pacific cod by catcher vessels less than 50 feet in length. A related notice for catcher vessels less than 60 feet length overall similarly identifies the AGENCY as the National Marine Fisheries Service, NMFS, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, Commerce, underscoring that small-boat sectors are directly in the crosshairs of the new limits.

Under these rules, directed fishing must stop once specific allocations are reached, effectively closing the fishery to targeted cod harvest for the affected vessels. One Federal Register segment spells out that NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher vessels less than 50 feet length overall in the Gulf of Alaska, using the framework of the fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska to justify the move. The closure for these small catcher vessels is tied to allocations that run through Alaska local time benchmarks, such as June 10, which are detailed in the regulatory text that explains how NMFS is prohibiting for Pacific cod in that period.

Pot gear fleets in the crosshairs

While small catcher vessels face strict limits, some of the most immediate shutdowns have hit boats that use pot gear to target cod. In the Western Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska, The National Marine Fisheries Service, NMFS, announced that it is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod allocated to vessels using pot gear, effectively closing that sector once its Pacific cod allocation is reached. That bulletin describes how the agency is acting to prevent the fleet in the West from exceeding its specific share of the cod total allowable catch and notes that the prohibition for vessels using pot gear in the Western Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska will remain in place until further notice.

Similar action followed in the Central Regulatory Area, where NMFS issued a separate notice that it Prohibits Directed Fishing for Pacific Cod by vessels using pot gear in the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska. The bulletin explains that, effective at a specified Alaska local time, vessels using pot gear in the central Gulf must stop directed fishing for cod because the sector is projected to reach its allocation. That action, described in detail in the NMFS Prohibits Directed bulletin for vessels using pot gear in the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska, ties directly back to a Federal Register action and shows how the closure ripples across gear types and regions.

Catch limits, inseason adjustments, and the role of the Council

Behind the vessel-by-vessel closures sits a broader effort to adjust Pacific cod catch limits in the Gulf of Alaska as new data arrive. An inseason rulemaking explains that, without an immediate adjustment decreasing Pacific cod total allowable catches, or TACs, harvests of Pacific cod in State waters and Federal waters in the GOA could exceed sustainable levels. That inseason adjustment describes how federal managers used authority under 5 U.S.C. to quickly reduce TACs so that Pacific cod would not be harvested in an expedient manner that risked overshooting the targets, and it frames the Gulf of Alaska, often abbreviated GOA, as a single connected system spanning State waters and Federal waters that both draw on the same stock.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council, often shortened to NPFMC or simply The Council, has played a central role in setting those TACs. In early 2026, The Council recommended a substantial increase to Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod catch limits for 2026 and 2027 after requesting an updated Pacific cod assessment outside the usual schedule. That assessment relied on new 2025 NOAA trawl data and was delivered earlier than the regular fall timeframe so that The Council could respond to stock conditions without an updated stock assessment delay. One summary notes that The Council’s action to request an updated Pacific cod assessment early in 2026 rather than waiting for the regular fall timeframe was motivated by concern that the fishery would otherwise operate for another year without an updated stock assessment, which led to a recommendation for higher cod limits based on the new survey results.

The tension between higher TACs and tighter closures

The apparent contradiction between higher catch limits and tighter closures has become one of the defining features of the Gulf of Alaska cod debate. On one hand, The North Pacific Fishery Management Council, NPFMC, has recommended a big increase in Gulf of Alaska, GOA, cod catch limits for 2026 after reviewing the updated data. That recommendation, which used 2025 NOAA trawl data, suggests that the Pacific cod stock in the GOA has improved relative to the years that followed the earlier Gulf of Alaska cod crash and that there is room to raise the overall harvest. On the other hand, NMFS has still moved to close directed fishing for specific fleets as their allocations are reached, which means many vessels experience the fishery as closed even as the overall TAC rises.

Part of the explanation lies in how TACs are subdivided and shared between State and Federal systems. The February 2026 newsletter from the North Pacific Fishery Management Council notes that The Eastern GOA TAC for 2026 accounts for the previously specified, in Dec 2025, State water GHL of 680 m because that fishery is unlikely to be harvested in full given recent performance. That reference to the State GHL, or guideline harvest level, shows how federal TACs are adjusted to account for State allocations, which in turn shapes how much cod is left for federal fleets after State waters are considered. When NMFS then closes directed fishing for particular gear types or vessel size classes, such as catcher vessels less than 60 feet length overall that are described in the AGENCY National Marine Fisheries Service, NMFS, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, Commerce notice, the result can be a patchwork of open and closed sectors that do not always match the headline TAC increase.

Ecosystem concerns and the broader Pacific cod picture

Stock health and ecosystem impacts remain at the center of the regulatory story. Pacific cod are a key groundfish species in the North Pacific, and a basic overview of Pacific cod biology highlights their role as both predator and prey in cold, subarctic waters. In the Gulf of Alaska, managers must also consider interactions with protected species. An inseason adjustment document explains that Steller sea lions occur in the same location as Pacific cod fisheries and are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. That analysis connects the distribution of Steller sea lions, the Pacific cod fishery, and the need to manage State GHL and Pacific cod TACs in ways that do not jeopardize recovery plans for the species.