The United States has proposed a 26% reduction in the catch quota for pollock, with high global raw material prices likely to become the norm.

According to the proposal, the total allowable catch (TAC) for Alaska pollock in the Alaska Gulf in 2026 will be significantly reduced from 186,245 tons in 2025 to 139,498 tons, marking the largest decrease in recent years. In contrast, the quota for Bering Sea pollock remains relatively stable at 1.375 million tons, nearly unchanged from 1.389 million tons in 2025. The pollock quota for the Aleutian Islands also remains at 19,000 tons, with only technical adjustments. Shutdown leads to limited assessment, data lag is the main reason for the reduction The reduction is partly due to the recent federal shutdown in the United States, which prevented fishery scientists from completing the assessment of groundfish resources as planned. Due to the lack of the latest data, the committee was forced to set the quota based on the old data from 2024. Several committee members expressed concern, noting that the survey coverage in the Alaska Gulf has been continuously shrinking in recent ...