Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program
IFQ Resources
Longlining halibut. Photo: Elisabeth Babich, F/V Keta.
- IFQ Fishery Season Dates
- North Pacific Fishery Management Council
- Application Forms
- Cost Recovery Fee Payment
- Loan Information
- Online Services:
- eLandings: Make landings for IFQ/CDQ crab, halibut and sablefish IFQ, and groundfish
- NMFS Web Application: Check a vessel balance; report a landing (to be replaced by eLandings); print a receipt for a previous landing; make an ex-vessel volume and value report; renew an annual registered buyer permit; pay cost-recovery fees; view an IFQ landing ledger report; check a permit balance; view a registered buyer landing ledger report and a quota share holdings report.
- eLandings: Make landings for IFQ/CDQ crab, halibut and sablefish IFQ, and groundfish
- Permit Information and Applications
- Recordkeeping and Reporting Forms
- Registered Buyer Landing Reports and Permits
- Regulations
- Reports: Catch Reports, Cost Recovery, Licenses Issued, Quota Share, Caps, Transfers, Crewmember Statistics, and Publications
- Quota Share
IFQ Permits
An IFQ permit authorizes participation in fixed-gear harvests of Pacific halibut off Alaska, and most sablefish fisheries off Alaska. The permits are not specific to vessels. Permits are issued annually, at no charge, to persons holding fishable Pacific halibut and sablefish Quota Share (QS); or to those who are recipients of IFQ-only transfers from QS holders. Authorized pounds for annual IFQ permits are determined by the number of QS units held, the total number of QS units in the "pool" for a species and area, and the total amount of halibut or sablefish allocated for IFQ fisheries in a particular year. IFQ permits are authorized at 50 CFR Part 679.4(d).
Quota Share
Quota Share (QS) was initially issued to persons who owned or leased vessels that made legal commercial fixed-gear landings of Pacific halibut or sablefish during 1988-1990 off Alaska. QS is transferable to other initial issuees or to those who have become transferable eligible on NMFS' approval of an Application for Transfer Eligibility Certificate. Once issued to a person (at no charge), QS is held by that person until it is transferred, suspended, or revoked. QS permits are authorized at 50 CFR Part 679.4(d).
IFQ Area Charts
- International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) Regulatory Areas
- Sablefish Regulatory Areas
- Fishery Management Boundaries: Alaska Department of Fish and Game Groundfish Statistical Areas, National Marine Fisheries Service Reporting Areas, and International Pacific Halibut Commission Regulatory Areas
- Fisheries Regulations, Final and Proposed
Rules, Notices (1994 to present)
- 75 FR 51741, August 23, 2010. Proposed regulations to modify the Individual Fishing Quota Program for the Fixed-Gear Commercial Fisheries for Pacific Halibut and Sablefish in waters in and off Alaska by revoking quota share that have been inactive since they were originally issued in 1995. Comment period through September 22, 2010.
IFQ Regulations
- IFQ regulations prior to 1994: (LARGE FILES)
- 59 FR 51874, October 13, 1994. Correction to 58 FR 59375, November 9, 1993
- 58 FR 59375, November 9, 1993. Final Rule IFQ, Amendment 20/15, establishing IFQ.
- 57 FR 61870, December 29, 1992. Correction to 57 FR 57130, December 3, 1992.
- 57 FR 57130, December 3, 1992. Proposed Rule IFQ, Amendment 20/15, establishing IFQ.
- Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS) for the Individual Fishing Quota Management Alternative for Fixed Gear Sablefish and Halibut Fisheries, September 15, 1992
- 51 FR 5392, February 13, 1986. Notice of a control date for entry into the GOA sablefish fishery
Related Programs and Services
- Community Development Quota CDQ Halibut Program and Permits
- Community Quota Program
- Joint Sablefish Log Collection Program
- North Pacific Fishery Management Council
- Sitka Sound Local Area Management Plan (LAMP)
- Waiver of Halibut IFQ Debit for Landing of Halibut Tagged with Satellite Pop-up Tags
