Alaska Fish Factor: Alaska's key species -  pollock and cod appear heading north to colder waters

Catches for next year’s groundfish fisheries reflect ups and downs for Alaska’s key species - pollock and cod – and the stocks appear to be heading north to colder waters.

The bulk of Alaska’s fish catches come from waters from three to 200 miles offshore with oversight by federal fishery managers. Their advisory arm, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, reviews stock assessments for groundfish each October and sets preliminary catches for the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea and updates them as new data become available.

If the proposed catches get the go ahead in December, the Bering S...