100 Adding Grenadiers to the BSAI Groundfish FMP
Purpose and Need
Before Amendments 100 and 91 grenadiers were not considered in the management of groundfish fisheries in the EEZ off Alaska. Their absence from the FMP meant that there were no catch limits and no required monitoring of catch in the groundfish fisheries. Due to their abundance, an experimental commercial fishery developed targeting grenadier, but because of poor flesh quality there was little success. However, grenadiers were found to play a significant ecological role in their environment, especially the giant grenadier, an apex predator. By including grenadiers in the FMPs “in the fishery” or as an “ecosystem component” the Council would be able to improve the protection, conservation, and catch accounting of grenadiers.
Analysis
A 33-page EA and 9-page RIR analysis were prepared for BSAI Amendment 100/ GOA Amendment 91. The EA considered two alternatives of including grenadiers in the FMP, one as an “in the fishery” component and the other as an “ecosystem component.” Since the grenadiers were not a commercially viable species, the Council favored incorporating them in the FMP as an ecosystem component. Within the definition of an ecosystem component species, unmanaged target fishing would be prevented and the development of a directed fishery would be prohibited. While the ecosystem component alternative would allow for a small amount of grenadier to be harvested and sold, the development of a formal directed fishery would require an FMP amendment. The alternative to include grenadiers in the fishery was not chosen because a directed fishery would be a less conservative approach than if they were an ecosystem component relative to susceptibility to fishing. The RIR determined that since the present and past harvests of grenadiers taken incidentally are well below the current ABCs calculated for grenadiers, there would be no significant effects on the stock biomass, fishing mortality, spatial or temporal distribution, or changes in prey availability for grenadier and groundfish target species in either the BSAI or GOA with the “ecosystem component” alternative. The “in the fishery” alternative would have de minimus effects on fishery participants.
Regulation Summary
BSAI Amendment 100 and GOA Amendment 91 add grenadiers (Pacific grenadier, Popeye grenadier, and giant grenadier) to the “ecosystem component” category of the FMP. The regulation was meant to address the incidental catch of grenadiers in the groundfish fisheries. As such, grenadiers fell under management measures of the BSAI FMP, which could include measures such as prohibitions on directed fishing, limitations on allowable retention amounts, or limitations on the sale, barter, trade, or any other commercial exchange, as well as the processing of grenadier in the commercial processing facility.
Results
It is too early to gauge the results of the amendment.