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.
For Chignik, the total quota went up 49% to 5.5 million pounds of Pacific cod while the South Alaska Peninsula saw a 26% increase, up to 7.9 million pounds.
Updated quotas in state-waters follow the North Pacific Fishery Management Council’s review of updated Gulf of Alaska pacific cod stock assessments during the opening days of the council’s meeting last week on Feb. 5.
The newest stock assessment, which is in-part based on data collected during the biennial bottom trawl survey in the Gulf of Alaska last summer, shows Pacific cod stocks are 37% larger than what was projected in last year’s assessment.
This year’s Pacific cod pot gear season in state-waters in the Kodiak area opened on Jan. 27. The season is expected to last about a month but jig gear fishermen will likely take longer to reach their full harvest.
