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DOC/NOAA | RIN: 0648-BL42 | Publication ID: Spring 2022 |
Title: ●Amendment 123 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area; Halibut Abundance-Based Management of Amendment 80 Prohibited Species Catch Limit | |
Abstract:
In response to a recommendation by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council), this proposed action would implement Amendment 123 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI). If approved by the Secretary of Commerce and implemented by NMFS, this action would determine the BSAI Amendment 80 commercial groundfish trawl fleet’s (A80) halibut prohibited species catch (PSC) limit annually based on the most recent values from surveys conducted by the Alaska Fisheries Science Center and the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC). The Council’s intent in recommending Amendment 123 is to link annual halibut PSC limits in the A80 fleet with estimated halibut abundance. The reason for the change being considered is that the current PSC limit, currently set as a fixed annual amount of 1,745 mt, becomes an increasingly larger proportion of total halibut removals in the BSAI when halibut abundance declines. Over the last 6 years, the Council and its advisory bodies, stakeholders, and the public have considered several approaches for a halibut abundance-based management (ABM) program consistent with Council fishery management objectives and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA). Public testimony on this action over the years has focused on two primary concerns. The first is the importance of providing flexibility to the A80 fleet to prosecute their quotas. The second is concern about the decline in the directed halibut fishery catch as a result of a decline in halibut abundance, compounded by fixed PSC limits that further reduce the proportion of halibut available to the directed halibut fisheries. |
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Agency: Department of Commerce(DOC) | Priority: Substantive, Nonsignificant |
RIN Status: First time published in the Unified Agenda | Agenda Stage of Rulemaking: Proposed Rule Stage |
Major: No | Unfunded Mandates: No |
CFR Citation: 50 CFR 679 | |
Legal Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. |
Legal Deadline:
None |
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Timetable:
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Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Yes | Government Levels Affected: Federal |
Small Entities Affected: Businesses | Federalism: No |
Included in the Regulatory Plan: No | |
RIN Data Printed in the FR: Yes | |
Agency Contact: Jon Kurland Regional Administrator, Alaska Region Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 709 West Ninth Street, Juneau, AK 99801 Phone:907 586-7638 Email: jon.kurland@noaa.gov |