How is the Alaska pollock harvest level established?
The Alaska pollock fishery is managed by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) working closely with fishery scientists from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Each year, federal fishery scientists review fishery survey data and other scientific information, including historical fishery data and data collected by on-board observers, and produce a stock assessment report. The stock assessment report is peer-reviewed by the Groundfish Plan Team, a group of government and academic scientists, who then recommend an Allowable Biological Catch (ABC) level. The ABC is a small fraction of the total fish biomass. In recent years, the ABC of Alaska pollock has averaged only 15 to 20 percent of total biomass. The stock assessment and ABC recommendation then undergo a second round of review by a separate body of scientists called the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), which also makes an ABC recommendation. The Groundfish Plan Team and the SSC recommendations are
