Federal Register #2026-06870

NMFS Notice: 2025 Rockfish Program Fees & Sea Turtle Research Permit Announcement

This notice from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), part of NOAA under the Department of Commerce, provides regulatory updates for the Central Gulf of Alaska Rockfish Program and announces a scientific research permit:

• Government Buyer

  • National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce
  • Office of Sustainable Fisheries

• Rockfish Program Regulatory Notice

  • Sets the 2025 cost recovery fee percentage at 3.00% (statutory cap) for the Central Gulf of Alaska Rockfish Program
  • Details standard ex-vessel prices by species and month for quota share allocations
  • Primary species: northern rockfish, Pacific ocean perch, dusky rockfish
  • Secondary species: Pacific cod, rougheye rockfish, shortraker rockfish, sablefish, thornyhead rockfish
  • Fee covers management, data collection, analysis, and enforcement under the Magnuson-Stevens Act

• Scientific Research Permit

  • 5-year permit application by Dr. Jesse Senko (Arizona State University) for sea turtle research in North Carolina and Virginia waters
  • Authorizes take, handling, measuring, photography, and tagging of green, hawksbill, Kemp's ridley, leatherback, loggerhead, olive ridley, and unidentified sea turtles
  • Includes specific take and unintentional mortality limits

• Locations

  • Kodiak, Alaska (Rockfish Program)
  • North Carolina and Chesapeake Bay, Virginia (sea turtle research)

• Notable Requirements

  • No procurement or award is announced; this is a regulatory and permitting notice
  • Fee payments for the Rockfish Program are due by February 15 following the fishing year
  • Research permit includes strict species and mortality controls

Description

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) publishes the standard ex-vessel prices and fee percentage for cost recovery under the Central Gulf of Alaska Rockfish Program for the 2025 fishing year. This program allocates quota shares to rockfish cooperatives for harvesting specific rockfish species in federal waters near Kodiak, Alaska. The fee percentage for cost recovery is set at 3.00%, which is the statutory cap, and fee payments were due by February 15, 2026. The notice provides detailed standard prices per pound for various rockfish species and explains the cost recovery fee calculation and its regulatory basis under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

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