Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska; Prohibition of Nonpelagic Trawl Gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Pollock Fishery

Résumé

NMFS proposes regulations to implement Amendment 57 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Groundfish Fishery of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area (FMP). This action would consist of three regulatory changes. First, it would prohibit the use of nonpelagic trawl gear in the directed pollock fisheries of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI). Second, the action would revise the existing performance standard for pelagic trawl gear. Third, crab and halibut bycatch limits established for the BSAI groundfish trawl fisheries would be reduced. This action is necessary to address bycatch reduction objectives in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) and is intended to further the goals and objectives of the FMP.