Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Halibut Abundance-Based Management of Amendment 80 Prohibited Species Catch Limit

Résumé

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) submitted Amendment 123 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI FMP) to the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) for review. If approved, Amendment 123 would amend regulations governing Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) (halibut) prohibited species catch (PSC), or bycatch, limits in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) to link the halibut PSC limit for the Amendment 80 commercial groundfish trawl fleet in the BSAI groundfish fisheries to halibut abundance. This action is necessary to comply with the requirements of the Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). In particular, National Standard 9 and National Standard 1 require fishery management plans to minimize halibut PSC to the extent practicable while achieving optimum yield in the BSAI groundfish fisheries on a continuing basis. Further, National Standard 4 requires fishery management plans to ensure that when it becomes necessary to allocate or assign fishing privileges among various U.S. fishermen, such allocation shall be fair and equitable, reason