Find amendments across Fishery Management Plans

106 Reclassifying Squid to Ecosystem Component

Reclassified the squid stock complex under the Ecosystem Component category based on the best available scientific information, reflecting the lack of a directed squid fishery, high productivity, and low incidental fishing mortality. The amendment also prohibited directed fishing for squid, established a 20% maximum retention allowance, and implemented recordkeeping requirements.

110 Chinook and Chum Salmon Bycatch Management Measures

Amendment 110 establishes a comprehensive salmon bycatch avoidance program to improve management of Chinook and chum salmon in the Bering Sea pollock fishery. The action is intended to minimize salmon bycatch while maintaining the potential for full harvest of the pollock TAC within established PSC limits.

109 Pacific Cod Community Development Quota Fishery Development

Amendment 109 expands participation in the BSAI groundfish CDQ fisheries by exempting qualifying hook-and-line catcher vessels (≤46 ft) from LLP licensing requirements and reducing observer coverage requirements. It also establishes new in-season management and catch-accounting requirements for groundfish and halibut, supporting increased participation and economic development in western Alaska.

111 Halibut Prohibited Species Catch Limits

Amendment 111 reduces Pacific halibut bycatch (PSC) limits in four BSAI groundfish sectors, establishing a total BSAI halibut PSC limit of 3,515 metric tons. The action is intended to minimize halibut bycatch while supporting optimum yield from the BSAI groundfish fisheries.

112 Placing Certain Small Catcher/Processors in Partial Observer Coverage

Modified the criteria for placing small non-trawl catcher/processors in the partial observer coverage category, allowing eligible vessel owners to choose partial coverage annually if the vessel processed less than 79,000lb (35.8 mt) of groundfish on an average weekly basis in a specified prior year. The amendment maintains full observer coverage for trawl catcher/processors and vessels participating in catch share programs requiring full coverage, while promoting the goals of the FMPs and applicable federal law.

103 Revise the Pribilof Islands Blue King Crab Rebuilding Plan

: NOAA Fisheries issued a final rule implementing Amendment 103 to close the Pribilof Islands Habitat Conservation Zone year-round to directed Pacific cod fishing with pot gear. The closure is intended to reduce bycatch and prevent overfishing of Pribilof Islands blue king crab while supporting the goals of the BSAI FMP and the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

108 Amendments Correcting Vessel Length Exemptions to the License Limitation Program

NOAA Fisheries and the NPFMC submitted Amendment 108 (BSAI), Amendment 100 (GOA), and Amendment 46 (Crab) to correct omissions in the FMPs concerning vessel length limits for small vessels exempt from the License Limitation Program (LLP). The amendments align the FMP language with the original intent of the LLP, current fishery operations, and existing federal regulations.

100 Adding Grenadiers to the BSAI Groundfish FMP

NOAA Fisheries issued regulations implementing Amendments 100 and 91 to add reporting requirements for grenadiers, limit their retention, and prohibit directed fishing for them. The action is intended to monitor and limit incidental grenadier catch in groundfish fisheries while supporting the Magnuson-Stevens Act and the BSAI and GOA FMPs.

107 Walrus Islands Protected Transit Areas

Amendment 107 (BSAI) — The final rule allows federally permitted vessels to transit through the Walrus Protection Areas near Round Island and Cape Peirce from April 1 through August 15 each year, while continuing to prohibit fishing gear deployment there. The action restores transit access that was unintentionally restricted by Amendment 83 and maintains protections for walruses.

104 Development of Skate Habitat Areas of Particular Concern

This amendment designates six areas of skate egg concentration in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area as Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (HAPC). The designations highlight the importance of these areas as essential fish habitat and support their conservation

105 Bering Sea Flatfish Harvest Specifications Flexibility

This final rule establishes a process for Western Alaska CDQ groups and Amendment 80 cooperatives to exchange quota among flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole on a one-for-one basis, while staying within biological catch limits. It also allows the Council to set annual exchange limits based on social, economic, or biological considerations to help fisheries achieve optimum yield despite operational, environmental, and economic constraints.

106 American Fisheries Act Vessel Replacement

This final rule brings the BSAI FMP into conformity with the amended American Fisheries Act by allowing AFA vessels to be rebuilt or replaced without limits on length, weight, or horsepower. It also allows AFA catcher vessels in inshore cooperatives to leave the cooperative and transfer their Bering Sea pollock catch history to other vessels, improving vessel safety, operational efficiency, and fleet management.

102 Establishing a Community Quota Entity Program in Area 4B

NOAA Fisheries publishes regulations implementing Amendment 102 to the BSAI Groundfish FMP, creating a Community Quota Entity (CQE) Program in halibut IFQ Area 4B and the Aleutian Islands sablefish area. The program allows eligible communities to establish nonprofit CQEs to purchase quota share and assign resulting IFQ to participants, while also allowing D-share halibut IFQ to be fished on Category C vessels in Area 4B, providing additional opportunities for residents of fishery-dependent communities.

99 Adjustment of the Maximum Length Overall on BSAI Freezer Longline License Limitation Program Licenses

This action is necessary to allow certain Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Pacific cod hook-and-line fishery participants to replace older vessels with newer, larger, and more efficient vessels that meet modern safety standards. It is also necessary to modify existing vessel length and capacity restrictions for eligible License Limitation Program licenses. It is intended to improve safety at sea and increase the retention and utilization of groundfish by allowing vessels with greater processing and fish-hold capabilities.

86 Restructuring the Program for Observer Procurement and Deployment in the North Pacific

This action is necessary to restructure the North Pacific Groundfish Observer Program to address data quality and cost equity concerns. It establishes a new funding and deployment system that allows NOAA Fisheries to determine when and where observers are deployed based on management and conservation needs and funds coverage through fees based on the ex-vessel value of groundfish and halibut.

97 Amendment 80 Program Vessel Replacement

This action is necessary to allow Amendment 80 vessel owners to replace their vessels while establishing requirements for eligible replacement vessels. It is also necessary to improve safety at sea by requiring replacement vessels to meet certain U.S. Coast Guard safety standards. It is intended to improve the retention and utilization of groundfish by allowing vessels with greater processing capabilities.

93 Modifying Amendment 80 Cooperative Formation Criteria

This action is necessary to encourage greater participation in Amendment 80 harvesting cooperatives. It modifies the criteria for forming and participating in cooperatives, allowing members to more efficiently target species, avoid areas with undesirable bycatch, and improve the quality of products produced.

94 Modifying Amendment 80 Cooperative Formation Criteria

This action is necessary to reduce the potential adverse effects of nonpelagic trawl gear on bottom habitat and protect additional blue king crab habitat near St. Matthew Island. It requires modified trawl gear that raises portions of the gear off the ocean bottom, establishes the Modified Gear Trawl Zone, and expands the Saint Matthew Island Habitat Conservation Area. It is also intended to allow efficient flatfish harvest as the distribution of flatfish in the Bering Sea changes.

95 Skates as a Target Species

This action is necessary to revise the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska groundfish fishery management plans to meet National Standard 1 guidelines for annual catch limits and accountability measures. It moves skates and other remaining species groups from the “other species” category to the “target species” category, eliminates the “other species” and “non-specified species” categories, and establishes an “ecosystem component” category. It is intended to clarify species classifications and management practices under the groundfish fishery management plans.

96 Sharks, Sculpins, and Octopus as Target Species

This action is necessary to revise the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska groundfish fishery management plans to meet National Standard 1 guidelines for annual catch limits and accountability measures. It moves skates and other remaining species groups from the “other species” category to the “target species” category, eliminates the “other species” and “non-specified species” categories, and establishes an “ecosystem components” category. It is intended to clarify how these species are classified and managed under the groundfish fishery management plans.