Saving Seafood

Genetics Shines New Light on Cod Populations and Distributions in Alaska

April 6, 2026 — A team of researchers from NOAA’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center, the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, and Alaska BioMap, Inc., recently published the most comprehensive population genetic assessment of Pacific cod. Pacific cod is a commercially and ecologically important species in the North Pacific Ocean, and this study identified four distinct genetic stocks. This research provides critical, novel information for setting appropriate stock boundaries for Pacific cod. It shows that our management boundaries generally align with the genetic structure across this region.

Genetic Stock Identification with a New Cost-Effective Tool

“We were interested in using advanced genetic techniques to determine genetic differences among Pacific cod from different regions in Alaska,” said Sara Schaal, lead author of the study. “We collected samples from fish caught in known spawning grounds during the NOAA winter trawl surveys and from our fisheries partners within the Freezer Longline Coalition.”

Schaal and her colleagues first conducted whole-genome sequencing, which identified four genetically distinct stocks of Pacific cod within the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea:

  • Eastern Gulf of Alaska
  • Western Gulf of Alaska/eastern Bering Sea
  • Aleutian Islands
  • Northern Bering Sea

Results highlight significant genetic mixing between Pacific cod spawning in the western Gulf of Alaska and the eastern Bering Sea. This aligns with satellite tag studies that showed high proportions of Pacific cod movement between these two regions outside of spawning season.

The stocks identified using genetics match current management areas, except for the eastern Bering Sea and western Gulf of Alaska, which are currently managed as separate stocks. However, these data show they cannot be distinguished at the genetic level. Additionally, results clearly delineate two distinct stocks within the Gulf of Alaska—with a break between the western and eastern Gulf of Alaska. This had been suggested by previous work, but was clearly shown in this new study.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

North Pacific Fishery Management Council recommends big increase to 2026 Gulf of Alaska cod catch

February 11, 2026 — The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) has recommended a big increase in Gulf of Alaska (GOA) cod catch limits for 2026 and 2027.

The NPFMC’s latest action would increase the catch limit in the western and central Gulf of Alaska by 25 to 49 percent. The council’s revised recommendations would place the federal total allowable catch (TAC) for 2026 at 30,053 metric tons (MT), a significant bump from the 21,826 MT it recommended after a meeting in December. The acceptable biological catch (ABC) for the area was also increased to 41,250 MT.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

ALASKA: Pacific cod quota updated mid-season for Kodiak area fishermen

February 11, 2026 — Pacific cod fishermen in the Kodiak area and South Alaska Peninsula can now catch nearly 8 million pounds of fish during the current state-managed fishery. That’s after the Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced an updated quota last week on Feb. 5 in the middle of the 2026 season.

The guideline harvest level or quota went from 5.3 million pounds of cod ahead of the Kodiak area season opener to 7.9 million pounds on Feb. 5. That’s an almost 50% increase in the amount of fish that can be caught this season, which is split evenly between pot and jig fishermen.

Read the full article at KMXT

ALASKA: Managers OK increase in Gulf of Alaska cod harvest after shutdown delayed analysis

February 10, 2026 — In a decision that was delayed by the prolonged federal government shutdown last fall, federal fishery regulators have increased this year’s allowable harvest of Pacific cod in the Gulf of Alaska.

The approximately 37.5% increase in total allowable catch was approved by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, the panel that oversees commercial seafood harvests in federal waters off Alaska. The new limit approved by council members on Thursday totaled 30,053 metric tons across all three designated regions of the Gulf of Alaska, up from 21,826 metric tons tentatively approved in December.

Normally, the annual harvest limits for groundfish species like pollock and Pacific cod for both the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska are set at the council’s regular December meetings.

Fishery scientists lacked sufficient time to analyze data from summer surveys because of the record 43-day federal government shutdown that ended on Nov. 12, so the council then wound up using 2024 recommendations to set 2026 harvest limits.

Read the full article at Alaska Beacon

Pacific Cod Gene Expression Analysis Reveals how Changing Oceans Impact Larvae

February 9, 2026 — A new study used gene expression analysis to explore how temperature and ocean acidification affect Pacific cod larvae. Scientists discovered that larvae are equipped with genes that allow them to survive cool and acidified conditions. However, warming may cause mortality by depleting energy and triggering inflammatory responses. These mechanisms are possible links between changes in ocean conditions and the recruitment of young fish in the Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod population.

Decrease in Pacific Cod Population

Pacific cod is a highly valued commercial fishery, and cod also play a key role in the ecosystem as both predator and prey. However, cod populations in Alaska have declined in recent years. Decreased population size is likely linked to recent marine heat waves, and early life stages seem to be the most impacted. Scientists predict that marine heatwaves may be more common in the future and that ocean acidification will intensify, particularly at high latitudes.

Experiments have shown that Pacific cod are sensitive to temperature during their early life stages. Temperature influences how their eggs develop, how their bodies use energy, and how they grow and survive as larvae. We don’t know as much about the impacts of ocean acidification.

In a 2024 study at the NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center, scientists raised Pacific cod from embryos to larvae at multiple temperatures (3°C, 6°C, 10°C). To examine the potential interaction between temperature and ocean acidification, they also raised them in water that replicated current ocean conditions and in more acidified conditions. This mimicked conditions projected for the end of this century. The study found that larval mortality was very high in warm water but the effect of acidification was more complex.

The effects of temperature and acidified conditions depended on the fish’s development stage. Scientists need to better understand how changing ocean conditions can affect important species like Pacific cod, and whether these species can adapt to these changes.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

New Tools Help Alaska Communities Prepare for Future Changes in Pacific Cod Distributions

January 16, 2026 — Scientists conducted a new socio-economic risk assessment, combined with statistical modeling, on the risk of coastal Alaskan fishing communities to changes in Pacific cod distributions. Their insights may help these communities prepare and adapt to these changes.

Fishing is central to life in Alaska. North Pacific fisheries, including Pacific cod, support local, state, and national economies. They strengthen cultural ties and food security in coastal communities. The economic and social benefits derived from Alaskan fisheries are deeply connected to the resilience of fishing communities facing changing environmental conditions.

Alaska’s commercial fisheries account for roughly 60 percent of the U.S. seafood harvest, and supply seafood to the United States and the globe. They also provide employment for one in seven Alaskan residents.

Communities Reliant on Pacific Cod Most at Risk

Pacific cod is one of the largest and most important commercial fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska and Eastern Bering Sea. It’s also the lifeblood and economic mainstay for many small coastal fisheries and rural communities across the state. A declining Pacific cod fishery could have significant impacts on these communities.

Alaska Fisheries Science Center scientists found that coastal communities along the southeastern Bering Sea are most vulnerable. They are at greater relative risk if Pacific cod populations shift northward in response to environmental changes. At highest relative risk were those communities within the Aleutians East Borough and Bethel Census Area. The research was conducted as part of the Alaska Climate Integrated Modeling project.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

ALASKA: Terry Haines/Kodiak Daily Mirror: Report cards for sablefish and cod stocks

December 3, 2025 — The North Pacific Fishery Management Council will meet in-person starting today at the Egan Center in Anchorage. The council will meet through Dec. 9.

Among the documents they will peruse are “report cards” for Alaska’s sablefish stock, and Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod stock. These report cards are based on data through 2024.

Sablefish numbers continue to be buoyed by a strong class from 2019. Here are some other factors that could determine the fate of sablefish statewide:

Surface temperatures in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) and southeastern Bering Sea (SEBS) remain below average, with no recent heatwave events in the GOA.  Unlike other species the historically warm water temperatures were beneficial to baby sablefish. Cooler conditions probably mean relatively slower larval sablefish growth.

Scientists actually keep track of the size of baby sablefish observed in seabird bill loads. While their size increased in 2023, it remained below the historical average, while growth was average in 2024.

The zooplankton community size was above average in the eastern GOA but below average in the western GOA in 2023, implying variable feeding conditions for larval and young-of-the-year (YOY) sablefish.

Read the full article at Alaskafish.news

ALASKA: Government shutdown creates uncertainty for fisheries management in waters off Alaska

October 10, 2025 — For the organization that oversees commercial fisheries in federal waters off Alaska, the most significant impact of the federal government shutdown might materialize in December.

That is when the North Pacific Fishery Management Council is scheduled to issue harvest limits for Alaska pollock – the nation’s top-volume commercial harvested species – and other types of groundfish harvested in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska, such as Pacific cod and sablefish.

The Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska pollock harvests start in January.

To set the groundfish harvest levels, the council relies on federal scientists’ analysis of fish stocks in the ocean, work that is based in large part on scientific surveys conducted over the summer.

But during the shutdown, most National Marine Fisheries Service employees, including the scientists who analyze survey data to assess the conditions of commercially targeted fish stocks, are furloughed.

On Wednesday, the last day of the council’s October meeting, the members considered how to deal with scientific uncertainty if the government shutdown prevents completion of the detailed analysis that is usually provided in time for the December meeting.

Council member Nicole Kimball referred to a warning issued eight days prior by Bob Foy, director of the NMFS Alaska Fisheries Science Center, the organization that does the stock assessments. Foy said then that a shutdown lasting more than five days would compromise the ability to complete stock assessments and that a shutdown beyond 15 working days would “dramatically impact” those assessments.

Read the full article at Alaska Beacon

Aleutian Islands state-waters Pacific cod season opens

February 6, 2025 — The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) has announced the opening of the Aleutian Islands Subdistrict (AIS) state-waters Pacific cod season, along with the closure of the parallel season for all state waters west of 170° W longitude, effective Feb.1, 2025.

The state-waters Pacific cod season opened at 12:00 p.m. AKST on Feb. 1 for vessels 100’ or less in overall length (OAL) using pot gear, vessels 60’ or less OAL using nonpelagic trawl or jig gear, and vessels 58’ or less OAL using longline gear. Simultaneously, the parallel Pacific cod season closed for all gear types in the AIS west of 170° W longitude.

All harvested Pacific cod must be retained. The daily harvest limit per vessel is set at 150,000 pounds (round weight), with a maximum of 150,000 pounds of unprocessed cod allowed onboard at any time. The ADF&G statement noted that any overages must be reported, with proceeds surrendered to the state. Bycatch limits from the parallel Pacific cod season will remain in effect during the state-waters season.

Read the full article National Fisherman

 

North Pacific heat waves speed hatching, increasing mortality of juvenile cod

January 30, 2024 — Marine heat waves appear to trigger earlier reproduction in juvenile Pacific cod, leading to higher mortality in the species’ early life stages and fewer juvenile fish surviving in the Gulf of Alaska, according to research from the Oregon State University.

During 2014 to 2016 and again in 2019, unusually high ocean temperatures were followed by steep declines in adult Gulf of Alaska cod. The fishery was closed in 2020, and a federal fishery disaster was declared in 2022.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman