National Marine Fisheries Service “owner on board” regulations prohibit halibut and sablefish quota owners from leasing individual fishing quota. Regulations also require a person to have at least 150 days of sea time to hold individual fishing quota.
As a community quota entity, ACDC is allowed to buy Quota Shares (QS) on behalf of the community and is exempt from the leasing restriction on the annual individual fishing quota that the quota shares generates. Adak residents are also exempt from the sea time requirement when fishing CQE quota.
By leasing individual fishing quota to Adak residents who lack the necessary sea time and/or capital to acquire quota shares, the CQE program allows a way for new entrants to get a greenhorn deckhand position as a foothold in the fishery.
The goal of the CQE program is to tie as much of the Aleutian quota as possible to our community, so the benefits are captured locally. As part of the enabling legislation, ACDC is allowed to own up to 15% of the quota shares available in Area 4B. As of 2020, after much effort by the Board, ACDC has effectively reached the maximum amount of halibut quota shares it may own under the program.