The US Pacific cod fishery is often hailed as one of the best-managed fisheries in the world, and the Alaska Pacific cod harvest accounts for over 95 per cent of all cod, regardless of species, caught in the United States. The total allowable catch (TAC) for the Alaska cod fishery in 2012 is 53,348 metric tons, an increase of nearly 10 per cent over last year’s quota and 40 per cent over the 2010 TAC. The TAC is carefully calculated each year to ensure that all Alaska seafood is sustainably harvested. Following earlier openings in the Alaska cod fishery, fishermen still have 176,901 metric tons of the TAC remaining for the fall season.
Demonstrating Alaska’s intensive management, Alaska cod harvests are allocated by both gear type and location to ensure the long-term health of the State of Alaska’s cod fisheries. Alaska cod are caught using four gear types: hook and line, pot, trawl, and mechanical jigs, with virtually all fish either frozen or chilled at-sea. Alaska’s Pacific cod fisheries extend from the Bering Sea to Southeast Alaska.
