Find amendments across Fishery Management Plans

1a Foreign Fleet PSC Limits for Chinook Salmon

Amendment 1a established foreign chinook salmon PSC limits as follows: During any fishing year, that portion of fishing Area 1 lying between 55°N and 57°N latitude and 165°W and 170°W longitude and all of fishing Area 2 may be closed for the remainder of the periods January 1- March 31, and October 1 - December 31 to trawl vessels of any nation. This closure will occur when vessels of a nation have intercepted that nation’s portion of the PSC of Chinook salmon. A nation’s initial portion of the Chinook salmon PSC for a fishing year was determined by multiplying 55,250 (the total PSC for Chinook salmon) by the ratio of that nation’s initial groundfish allocation to the total initial TALFF plus reserves for groundfish.

G9 Close Kodiak Gear Area to Foreign Trawl

This amendment closed Kodiak Gear Area to foreign trawl.

G8 Establish OY and Species Categories, Sablefish Areas, and Biodegradable Panels

This amendment established optimum yields, four species categories, three sablefish areas, and required biodegradable panels on sablefish pots.

G6 Reduction of Domestic Annual Harvest

This amendment lowered the estimates of domestic annual harvest and commensurately increased the total allowable level of foreign fishing.

G7 Extend the FMP, Adjust Optimum Yield for Pacific Cod, Establish Species Category for Thornyhead Rockfish, Domestic Reporting Requirements

This amendment extended the plan, adjusted the optimum yield for Pacific cod, established a species category for Thornyhead Rockfish, and created new domestic reporting requirements.

G5 Establish Species Category for Grenadiers

This amendment established an optimum yield, domestic annual harvest, and total allowable level of foreign fishing for fish of the genus Coryphaenoides

G4 Removal of Gear and Area Restrictions, Adjust Optimum Yield, Reduce Regulatory Areas

This amendment (containing 11 subparts) corrected omissions in the original plan, eliminated superfluous management measures, and eased the burden of the measures on both domestic and foreign fisherman.

G3 Foreign Apportionment of Pacific Cod in Chirikof Area

This amendment permits foreign longline fishermen to take the entire Chirikof total allowable levels for foreign fishing (and any allocated reserves) for Pacific cod in that portion of the Chirikof subarea west of 157° W. longitude.

G2 Joint Venture Reserve

This amendment raised the pollock reserve to 133,800 metric tons, with appropriate increases in the reserves of species that will be taken incidental to a directed fishery for pollock, in order to assure that an adequate supply of fish was available for harvest through October 31,1979 by U.S. fishermen in potential joint venture operations involving sale of U.S. caught fish to foreign processing vessels at sea.

10 Bristol Bay Trawl Closure, Crab and Halibut Prohibited Species Catch Limits, Catcher/Processor Reporting Requirements, Domestic Observer Requirements

Amendment 10 was proposed primarily in response to concerns that commercial trawl fishing was contributing to the mortality of crabs through their incidental capture and mutilation from trawl gear.

27 Research Plan/Observer Program (not implemented)

These amendments incorporate the provisions of the North Pacific Fisheries Research Plan into each FMP to provide a standard application of the Research Plan and associated observer coverage throughout applicable fisheries.

29 Salmon Bycatch Accounting (withdrawn)

The purpose of this amendment was to reduce salmon bycatch in trawl fisheries.

4 Increase Domestic Allocation II, Increase Pacific Cod Acceptable Biological Catch and Optimum Yield, Relax Foreign Area Restrictions in the Aleutian Islands

This amendment allowed foreign trawling outside 3 miles north of the Aleutians between 170° 30 W and 170° W and south of the Aleutians between 170° W and 172° W, and allowed foreign longlining outside 3 miles west of 170° W longitude. Amendment 4 also changed the specifications for yellowfin sole, other flatfish, and Pacific cod.

5 Reduce Chinook Salmon Prohibited Species Catch Limit (withdrawn)

This amendment was withdrawn. Redundant with Amendment 3

6 Domestic Fishery Development Zone (disapproved)

The amendment was disapproved by the Secretary of Commerce under Section 304 (b)(2) of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act on December 8, 1983 and withdrawn.

63 Classify Skates, Sharks, Sculpins, and Octopus as Target Species (Tabled)

Board of Fisheries/North Pacific Council committee, the council initiated an analysis for shark and skate management that considered 3 action alternatives. The Council took up the issue again in October 1999 and added three new alternatives based on the recommendation of the Advisory Panel. The Council refined and modified the amendments again in April 2001 to include squid, octopi, and sculpins in the analysis that combined a number of proposed actions: 1) separate BSAI and GOA “other species” into their component groups, 2) allow determination of ABCs for GOA groups, 3) prohibit directed fishing for sharks and skates, 4) prohibit shark finning, 5) remove “other species” from the multi - species CDQ program. By October 2003 the BSAI Amendment 63 package was tabled and only the GOA Amendment 63 package moved forward. After the implementation of the Magnuson - Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006 (MSRA), the Council once again took up skate management and in October 2009 and April 2010 initiated BSAI Amendment 95 and 96, respectively. These amendments implemented maximum retainable amounts for the BSAI skate complex and improved the description of the harvest specification process.

98 Essential Fish Habitat Omnibus Amendments

This action is necessary to update the essential fish habitat provisions in five North Pacific fishery management plans based on the results of the 5-year Essential Fish Habitat review. It is intended to ensure that essential fish habitat provisions reflect the best available information and support the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the fishery management plans.

C3 Research Plan/Observer Program (not implemented)

These amendments incorporate the provisions of the North Pacific Fisheries Research Plan into each FMP to provide a standard application of the Research Plan and associated observer coverage throughout applicable fisheries.

G1 Extend OY, TALFF, and US Capacity Estimates through 1979

This amendment extended the established optimum yields, statement of U.S. capacity, and total allowable level of foreign fishing from December 31, 1978 to October1, 1979. It also modified the language in the plan to reflect November as the start of the fishing year.

G12 Pot Gear Prohibition for Sablefish (withdrawn)

Amendment 12 addressed two potential problems in the Southeast sablefish fishery: 1) conservation and restoration of the depressed sablefish fishery; and 2) fishing grounds preemption and wastage of the existing sablefish resource.