Emergency Rule Lets Fishermen Catch More Because Fish Are Thriving
Published Date: 6/16/2026
Rule
Summary
Fishermen along the West Coast can catch more shortspine thornyhead, canary rockfish, and petrale sole this year thanks to new science showing bigger fish populations. This emergency rule, effective July 20 through December 31, 2026, boosts catch limits and sector shares to help reduce economic losses from previous tight restrictions. It’s a win for fishers and the local fishing economy!
Analyzed Economic Effects
5 provisions identified: 5 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Emergency extension: higher catch limits
If you fish in the U.S. West Coast exclusive economic zone off Washington, Oregon, or California, NMFS extended an emergency rule from July 20, 2026 through December 31, 2026 that raises 2026 overfishing limits (OFL), acceptable biological catches (ABC), annual catch limits (ACL), and harvest guidelines (HG) for shortspine thornyhead, canary rockfish, and petrale sole. Examples of the revised 2026 totals are: shortspine thornyhead OFL 970 mt / ABC 902 mt / ACL 897 mt; canary rockfish OFL 673 mt / ABC 626 mt / ACL 626 mt; petrale sole OFL 2,676 mt / ABC 2,489 mt / ACL 2,489 mt.
Canary rockfish: remove 40-10 buffer
For canary rockfish, the emergency extension makes the 2026 ABC equal to the ACL (ABC = ACL = 626 metric tons) by eliminating the 40-10 precautionary-zone buffer for 2026. This change is effective July 20 through December 31, 2026.
Shortspine thornyhead: phased-in ABC rule
For shortspine thornyhead, the extension implements a phase-in ABC control rule that reduces the buffer between the OFL and ABC for 2026; revised 2026 values include OFL 970 mt, ABC 902 mt, ACL 897 mt, and HG 820.6 mt. The change is effective July 20 through December 31, 2026.
Increased Tribal harvest guidelines (mt)
This rule increases Tribal harvest guidelines for the listed stocks through December 31, 2026: Canary rockfish Tribal HG is 54.7 metric tons per year; petrale sole Tribal HG is 322.5 metric tons per year; shortspine thornyhead Tribal HG is 54.4 metric tons per year (longspine thornyhead Tribal HG remains 30 mt).
Higher 2026 shorebased IFQ trawl allocations
The extension raises 2026 shorebased trawl IFQ allocations (coastwide) compared with 2025: canary rockfish 2026 trawl allocation is 382 mt (up from 348 mt in 2025); petrale sole 2026 trawl allocation is 2,099 mt (up from 2,001 mt); and shortspine thornyhead 2026 trawl allocation is 506 mt (up from 406 mt). These allocations apply July 20 through December 31, 2026.
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