Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Fisheries of the Bering Sea Subarea

Resumo

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council has submitted Amendment 94 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP). Amendment 94, if approved, would require the use of modified nonpelagic trawl gear to directed fish for flatfish in the Bering Sea subarea and would change the boundaries of the Northern Bering Sea Research Area to establish the Modified Gear Trawl Zone and to expand the Saint Matthew Island Habitat Conservation Area. The amendment also would make several minor technical changes to the FMP. This action is necessary to reduce the potential adverse effects of nonpelagic trawl gear on benthic habitat, to protect additional blue king crab habitat near St. Matthew Island, to provide for efficient flatfish harvest under changing ocean conditions, and to revise the FMP by removing errors and ensuring program descriptions are consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. This action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the FMP, and other applicable laws. Comments from the public are encouraged.