Managing Rockfish Doppelgangers-Monitoring of Central Gulf of Alaska Rockfish Program

The Central Gulf of Alaska rockfish fisheries are conducted in federal waters near Kodiak, Alaska, primarily by trawl vessels, and to a lesser extent by longline vessels. Exclusive harvesting privileges are allocated to catcher vessels and catcher/processors under the Rockfish Program for rockfish primary and secondary species.

The fishery is monitored via a suite of mechanisms including Catch Management Control Plans (CMCP’s) developed by fish processors, fishery observer data, shore side landing and production reports, eLanding data, and offload monitoring of sorting by a dedicated rockfish monitor. Outreach and educational measures include the development of a “Dead Fish Guide” in 3 languages used by fish plant personnel. The guide was developed to help insure accurate industry data for species that are hard to identify especially when dead.