106 American Fisheries Act Vessel Replacement
Purpose and Need
Enacted in 1998, The American Fisheries Act (AFA) had numerous provisions that affected groundfish and crab fisheries management in Alaska. The act stated that vessels participating in the AFA BSAI and GOA pollock fisheries could not be replaced or rebuilt, thereby preventing the permanent transfer of licenses to other vessels in the cooperative. In 2010, the AFA was amended in the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010 (Coast Guard Act). The Coast Guard Act addressed vessel replacement provisions of the AFA, specifically the rebuilding, replacement, and removal of vessels eligible to participate in the BSAI and GOA AFA pollock fishery. As a provision, the Coast Guard Act afforded the Council the opportunity to recommend measures as to not diminish the effectiveness of the BSAI and GOA FMPs. The primary concern of the Council was that the increased participation by AFA rebuilt and replacement vessels did not adversely affect the existing participants (non-AFA vessels) in the BSAI and GOA groundfish fisheries, or place excessive pressure on the fishery itself. Amendment 106 to the BSAI FMP was necessary to reconcile the FMP and the AFA amendments in the Coast Guard Act, and to prevent AFA vessels that were being replaced from increasing fishing effort beyond historical catch levels.
Analysis
A 66-page RIR analysis was prepared that analyzed two alternatives and four options under Alternative 2. The first alternative was no action and would prohibit the rebuilding or replacement of AFA vessels except in the case of total or constructive loss, which was not compliant with the Coast Guard Act. Alternative 2 was selected by the Council as the preferred alternative and brought the FMP into compliance with the Coast Guard Act. This alternative allowed rebuilt or replaced vessels to participate in the GOA groundfish fishery on the condition that they do not exceed a MLOA specified in the GOA LLP. Alternative 2 also addressed the question of sideboard exemptions with rebuilt or replaced vessels. The alternative analyzed stated that the sideboard exemption would be forfeited once a vessel was removed and could not be transferred to another vessel. Under Alternative 2 the replacement or rebuilt vessel would not be subject to length, size, or horsepower limitations while operating in the BSAI. If the replaced vessel was exempt from sideboard limitations, the replacement vessel would likewise be exempt. The same applied to replaced vessels subject to sideboard limitations.
Regulation Summary
Amendment 106 aligns the BSAI FMP with section 602 of the Coast Guard Act of the AFA. The amendment allows vessels participating in the AFA BSAI and GOA pollock fishery to replace or rebuild vessels in accordance with the Coast Guard Act. BSAI replacement or rebuilt vessels are not subject to length, size, or horsepower limitations while participating in the BSAI AFA groundfish fishery. Vessels may also participate in the AFA GOA groundfish fishery, but are subject to maximum length overall (MLOA) provisions described in the GOA Limited License Program (LLP). The Coast Guard Act also provides for vessel removal by enabling owners of AFA catcher vessels that participate in inshore cooperatives to remove a vessel from the Bering Sea pollock fishery and assigning its directed pollock fishing allowance to one or more vessels in the cooperative. Any vessel replaced or removed from any fishery is permanently ineligible unless reclassified as an AFA replacement vessel in the directed pollock fishery.
Results
In terms of what Amendment 106 was meant to accomplish, the amendment was successful in allowing companies to replace or rebuild AFA BSAI and GOA groundfish fishing vessels. However, due to the substantial cost for replacement of vessels and the small amount of time that has elapsed since implementation, the longterm effects of the amendment are unknown.