Unalaska, AK – The National Marine Fisheries Service crab rationalization program was tweaked slightly Thursday, closing a loophole that allowed crab fishermen unrestricted access to Pacific cod in state-managed waters.

The amendment, which was published Thursday morning in the Federal Register, extends sideboard protections for Pacific cod to state waters in the Gulf of Alaska. A sideboard is a fishery-wide cap, in this case applying to boats that fish mainly for opilio crab in federally managed waters. The change will subject all fishing vessels to the same set of rules.

The Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod fishery and the Bering Sea opilio fishery take place at the same time, starting in January, which used to mean that boats couldn't participate in both. But rationalization has extended the opilio season, and some vessel owners who now lease their crab quotas to other fishermen aren't participating in it at all. Regulators are concerned that this greater flexibility makes it easier for Bering Sea crab boats to also fish for Pacific cod in the state-regulated Gulf of Alaska, crowding the fishery.

The rule change received no feedback during its public comment period. It goes into effect on August 7.

On the Web: http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/frules/71fr38298.pdf