103 Revise the Pribilof Islands Blue King Crab Rebuilding Plan
Purpose and Need
Pribilof Island blue king crab (PIBKC) stocks had been cause for concern since the late 1990s and had been closed to directed fishing since 1999. In 2002, the Secretary of Commerce notified the Council that the PIBKC stock biomass was below the minimum stock size threshold (MSST), defined as half the biomass of maximum sustained yield (BMSY). As a result, a rebuilding plan was implemented in 2003 that prohibited directed fishing until the stock biomass was rebuilt, the metric of which was two consecutive years of meeting BMSY. Despite joint conservation efforts by NMFS, the Council, and the State, in 2009 NMFS reported that current rebuilding plan had not achieved adequate progress to rebuild the stock by 2014. Under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) the Council had two years from the time of notification to revise the existing rebuilding plan. However, due to the complexity of the issue, availability of information, and data limitations, additional time was required to ensure the Council had enough time to develop appropriate alternatives. The cause of the PIBKC population decline was thought to be the result of environmental changes that inhibited blue king crab reproduction. In order for the stock to rebuild there would have to be multiple years of above average recruitment and/or a change in environmental conditions. NMFS estimated that the time period to rebuild the stock would exceed 10 years, as allowed under section 304(e)(4)(A)(ii) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Analysis
A 154-page EA and 63-page RIR were prepared to analyze six alternatives. There were two options under Alternative 2 for year-round closures and a third option to provide additional observer coverage with a PSC limit closure. There were also two closure options were presented under Alternative 3, two under Alternative 4, four under Alternative 5. Alternative 5 also included four options for a PSC limit. Alternative 6 combined elements of Alternative 2 and Alternative 5 with two main components: a year-round closure to fishing for Pacific cod with pot gear and a triggered closure of the area representing the distribution of the PIBKC stock between 1984 and 2009. The Council’s preferred alternative was Alternative 2, which would expand the Pribilof Islands Habitat Conservation Zone to apply to select groundfish fisheries and only Pacific cod pot fishing. The preferred option under Alternative 2 was the option to prohibit all Pacific cod pot fishing in the PIHCZ in addition to the existing trawl closure. A number of alternatives were considered but not carried forward in the analysis for various reasons. One alternative considered but not carried forward was a gear modification for a slick ramp for pot gear to deter blue king crab, but the Council felt that, while the technology may be useful in the future, it has not been tested enough for effectiveness to be determined and was not considered a viable alternative within the timeframe of the amendment. Additional PSC limit alternatives were considered but not carried forward due to lack of sufficient observer coverage.
Regulation Summary
The BSAI groundfish FMP and Crab FMP defer to the State of Alaska to develop harvest strategies for blue king crab with NMFS and Council oversight. For that reason, Amendment 103 is a framework rebuilding plan to rebuild PIBKC populations. NMFS closed the Pribilof Islands Habitat Conservation Zone (PIHCZ) to trawl gear and to directed fishing for Pacific cod with pot gear, which greatly eliminates PIBKC bycatch and prevents overfishing.
Results
Too early to gauge the results of the amendment