Limited Access Management of Federal Fisheries In and Off of Alaska; Amendments

Riepilogo

NMFS announces that the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted Amendment 32 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Groundfish Fishery of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area (BSAI) and Amendment 36 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). These amendments are necessary to facilitate full utilization of the allocated resources managed under the Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program for the Pacific halibut and sablefish fixed gear fisheries in and off of Alaska. This proposed action is intended to achieve full utilization by relieving transfer restrictions on Community Development Quota compensation quota shares (CDQ compensation QS), thereby allowing transfers to persons who could use the resulting IFQ to harvest the resource. The Council intends for these proposed amendments to promote management and conservation of IFQ species, and to further the goals and objectives contained in the FMPs that govern their management. Comments are requested from the public.