Atlantic Pollock

NOAA Fisheries and the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) manage the US Atlantic pollock fishery. Atlantic pollock have been managed under the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan since 1986. This collective plan covers 20 stocks from 13 different species. Grouping these species together allows the NEFMC to manage these mixed fisheries more effectively than if individually managed. Once decimated by overfishing in the 1980s and in the early 1990s, measures under the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan have allowed populations to rebound from overfishing. These measures include:

• Permitting requirements
• Time and area closures to limit fishing pressure and protect spawning pollock and habitat
• Annual catch limits of all groundfish that can be caught 
• Minimum catch sizes 

The Plan also establishes an optional catch share program for pollock and other New England groundfish. This program allows fishing vessels to fish together in sectors and allows fishers more control over when, where, and how they decide to fish as well as the ability to specifically target stocks that are not overfished. The catch share program exempts these sectors from many gear and area restrictions otherwise restricted to fishers outside the program. However, those sectors must stop fishing once their sector catches their predetermined allotment of fish. Fishers not in a sector or involved in the catch share must fish under regulations that limit the amount of groundfish they can catch, where they can fish, as well as the number of days they can fish. 

New England fishers must also follow a number of management measures to reduce bycatch in the groundfish fishery including the Harbor Porpoise and Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plans. These plans restrict where, when, and how gear can be set. In addition, these plans require the use of acoustic deterrent devices called “pingers” to prevent marine mammal entanglement in nets.

There is a small recreational fishery for US Atlantic pollock and there are no regulations governing the amount that can be caught by recreational vessels – though anglers must adhere to minimum catch size requirements. Regulations allow for an allocation of the yearly pollock quota to the recreational fishery if the recreational catch in federal waters exceeds five percent of the overall catch. 

Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is responsible for managing pollock stocks in Canadian waters. DFO manages fisheries through the implementation of Integrated Fisheries Management Plans (IFMP). Drafted by the DFO in collaboration with stakeholders, IFMPs set total allowable catch limits for pollock caught in Canadian waters.