Six Kodiak Island villages are among the 42 Gulf of Alaska communities eligible to apply for halibut and sablefish quota shares through the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Alaska Department of Community and Economic Development announced Wednesday.

Information packets are now available for all communities eligible to hold quota shares through newly formed nonprofit organizations known as Community Quota Entities (CQEs).

The CQE program allows nonprofit entities to purchase the quota shares and then lease them back to local resident fishermen.

“This is an important step that creates opportunity for local residents to fish quota in their own waters,” CED Commissioner Edgar Blatchford said in a press release.

Gulf communities eligible to participate in this program must meet the following criteria: have a population less than 1,500 based on the 2000 U.S. census; have direct saltwater access; lack direct road access to communities with a population over 1,500; have historic participation in halibut and sablefish fisheries; and be specifically designated on a list adopted by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

To participate a group must form a domestic nonprofit Alaska corporation, and then complete and file an application to form a nonprofit with the state of Alaska. A step-by-step guide is available online at http://www.dced.state.ak.us/bsc/CDQ/cqe/apply_cqe.htm.

Once a nonprofit corporation is formed, it applies to NMFS to be recognized as a CQE, which can then purchase IFQ shares on the open market and lease them back to harvesters. Only permanent residents are eligible for leases.

To obtain funding for quota share purchases, a qualified CQE nonprofit can contact a local lending institution. If denied a commercial bank loan, the CQE can contact the Division of Investments to see if they qualify for terms offered through the Commercial Fishing Revolving Loan Fund, 907-465-2510.