Catch Share Plan for Western Alaska CDQ (1992)

The Western Alaska Community Development Quota (CDQ) Program was developed by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council and implemented by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in 1992.  Through the CDQ Program, a percentage of  groundfish, prohibited species, halibut, and crab quotas in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI) are allocated to the CDQ Program and then further allocated among six non-profit corporations (“CDQ groups”) that represent 65 communities located along the Bering Sea coast and Aleutian Islands. The purpose of the program is to provide western Alaska communities the opportunity to participate and invest in BSAI fisheries, to support economic development in western Alaska, to alleviate poverty and provide economic and social benefits for residents of western Alaska, and to achieve sustainable and diversified local economies in western Alaska.  The CDQ groups manage and administer the CDQ allocations, economic development projects, and investments, including ownership interest in the at-sea processing sector and in catcher vessels.  Royalties from the lease of the CDQ allocations provide approximately $70 million annually to the CDQ groups.  The CDQ groups use this revenue to fund economic development projects and education, training, and employment programs.