Summer fishing in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands is winding down, and smaller catcher vessels will have access to an extra 1,700 metric tons of Pacific cod this fall after some quota went unused by other fleets.

Krista Milani, from the National Marine Fisheries Service, said her agency typically reallocates unused Pacific cod quota to the smaller fleet toward the end of each summer.

Catcher vessels less than 60 feet in length using hook and line gear are only allocated quota for the A season, which begins in January each year, so they are usually among the first to receive reallocations, Milani said.

Beginning Sept. 1, catcher vessels less than 60 feet using hook and line gear or pot gear can catch about 1,318 metric tons of cod transferred from the jig fleet, and 424 metric tons transferred from catcher vessels longer than 60 feet. The agency announced those transfers on Aug. 20.

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