What are sideboards?
Sideboards limit participation by specific vessels in Gulf of Alaska (GOA) groundfish fisheries (except IFQ sablefish) in Federal waters and in State waters during the State parallel fisheries. In general, sideboards are intended to limit the ability of crab boats from increasing historic levels of participation in the GOA, which otherwise might create more of a “race for fish.” There are two types of sideboards. One type restricts collective harvests by sideboarded vessels (except IFQ sablefish) to a sideboard limit (as computed below). Some affected vessels also are subject to another type of sideboard: they may not participate in the directed fishery for Pacific cod in the GOA.
