The first buyer of raw fish, persons who catch and process fish, and persons who catch and have fish processed by another business are required to file an annual report of their purchasing and processing activities. This report is called the Commercial Operators Annual Report (COAR) and is due by April 1 of the following year. The National Marine Fisheries Service also requires COAR reports from processing vessels operating in federal waters of the Exclusive Economic Zone.

The COAR reports contain data on seafood purchasing, production, and both exvessel and wholesale values of seafood products. The buying information from COAR is reported by species, area of purchase, condition of fisheries resources at the time of purchase, type of gear used in the harvest, pounds purchased, and exvessel value. The exvessel value in COAR includes any post-season adjustments or bonuses paid after the fish was purchased.

The production information from COAR is reported by species, area of processing, process type (frozen, canned, smoked, etc.), product type (fillets, surimi, sections, etc.), net weight of the processed product, and the first wholesale value.

COAR data can be compiled by ADF&G to meet specific requests. If you are interested in obtaining COAR data please contact the Seafood Industry Coordinator at dfg.seafood-coord@alaska.gov or (907) 465-6131.

• Codes for the 2013 Commercial Operator's Annual Report (PDF 432 kB)
• Complete COAR Form
• PDF file (PDF 601 kB)
• Fillable Word Document (Word doc 2,613 kB)
• COAR Forms by Section
1. Certification Page, Instructions and Codes (Word doc 258 kB) Required by all
2. Salmon Buying and Production (Word doc 859 kB) – Forms A(1-3) and B(1-6)
3. Herring Buying and Production (Word doc 317 kB) – Forms C(1-2) and D
4. Crab Buying and Production (Word doc 260 kB) – Forms E and F
5. Shrimp/Misc. Shellfish/Finfish Buying and Production (Word doc 253 kB) – Forms G and H
6. Groundfish Buying and Production (Word doc 456 kB) – Forms I(1-2) and J(1-2)
7. Halibut Buying and Production (Word doc 113 kB) – Form K
8. Custom Production (Word doc 153 kB) – Forms L(1-2)
9. Fish Buying Retro Payments/Postseason Adjustments (Word doc 223 kB) – Forms M(1-2)
• COAR Areas Based on ADF&G Statistical Areas
  • COAR Areas Based on Alaska Ports (PDF 995 kB)
  • Kuskokwim, Kotzebue, Yukon and Norton Sound (PDF 1,227 kB)
  • Prince William Sound, Cook Inlet, and Bristol Bay (PDF 1,437 kB)
  • Dutch Harbor, Bering Sea, and Adak/Western Aleutians (PDF 711 kB)
  • Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska Federal Waters (EEZ) (PDF 786 kB)
  • Kodiak, Chignik, and Alaska Peninsula (PDF 1,252 kB)
  • Southeast Alaska (PDF 2,037 kB)
• COAR FAQs
• COAR Example (PDF 366 kB)