Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska; Inshore Fee System for Repayment of the Loan to Harvesters of Pollock from the Directed Fishing Allowance Allocated to the Inshore Component under Section 206(b)(1) of the American Fisheries Act (AFA)

Résumé

NMFS proposes regulations to implement an inshore fee system for all pollock harvested under the inshore component (IC) of the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BS/AI) directed fishing allowance under the AFA. The AFA authorized a $75 million loan to reduce fishing capacity for offshore component (OC) pollock and the inshore fee system as the means of repaying the loan. The proceeds of the loan partly paid the cost of removing nine OC catcher-processors (which the AFA specified) from all commercial fishing in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The intent of this rule is to implement the inshore fee system that the AFA requires.