G25 Steller Sea Lion Buffer Zones
Purpose and Need
GOA Amendment 25 and BSAI Amendment 20 was proposed to allow regulations to be implemented to afford marine mammals additional protection, particularly Steller sea lions. Steller sea lions were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act on November 26, 1990 (55 FR 49204). Although the ultimate cause of the Steller sea lions decline remains unknown, Steller sea lions had been incidentally taken in fishing gear, intentionally killed and harassed by fishermen, and may have competed with commercial fisheries for food resources. The purpose of this amendment was to reduce the likelihood that commercial groundfish removals would deplete Steller sea lion prey abundance in key habitats, as well as to reduce incidental take of Steller sea lions.
Analysis
A 29 page EA/RIR/IRFA was prepared for the trawl closure area section and a 10 page EA/RIR/IRFA was prepared for the section revising GOA districts (final drafts undated, but near October 30, 1991). Five alternatives including the status quo were considered for the trawl closure section and two alternatives were considered for the GOA districts section of the Amendment. The other alternatives not chosen would have established larger time/area closures (20 nm year-round, 10 nm in summer with 20 nm winter extensions, 20 nm summer with 60 nm winter extensions). The alternative chosen (10 nm year-round rookery closures) represented an approximation of the average summer foraging range (average was 8 miles; maximum of 21 miles) for the six female Steller sea lions with pups tagged and tracked.
Regulation Summary
Regulations authorized by Amendment 20 implemented the following measures:
1) Areas are closed year-round to fishing by vessels using trawl gear within 10 nautical miles of key Steller sea lion rookeries located in the GOA and BSAI management areas.
2) Areas are closed within 20 nm of five sea lion rookeries to directed pollock fisheries during the “A” season. These rookeries are Sea Lion Rocks, Akun Island, Akutan Island, Seguam Island, and Agligadak Island
3) In the GOA, the specified total allowable catch for pollock in the combined western/central area is further divided among three pollock management districts: Area 61 (170-159 W. longitudes), Area 62 (159-154 W. longitudes), and Area 63 (154-147 W. longitudes). The Shelikof Strait district was eliminated. To prevent excessive accumulation of unharvested portions in any quarterly allowance of the pollock TAC, a limit of 150 percent of the initial quarterly allowance in each pollock management district was established.
Results
Many subsequent actions have been taken to minimize the impacts of fisheries on Steller sea lions. On March 12, 1993, NMFS extended the no-trawl zone around Ugamak Island out to 20 nm during the pollock roe fishery (58 FR 13561). Amendment 28 to the BSAI FMP subdivided the Aleutian Islands region into 3 districts to reduce localized depletion of Atka mackerel. Critical habitat for Steller sea lions was designated on August 27, 1993 (58 FR 45269). Amendment 45 to the GOA groundfish FMP further subdivided the areas for pollock fishing; these were further modified by regulatory amendment in June (63 FR 31939). A regulatory amendment implemented in 1999 seasonally apportioned the AI Atka mackerel TAC into two seasons, incrementally shifted the allowable catch outside of Steller sea lion critical habitat area, and added a 20 nm no-trawl zone around Sequam rookery.
In 1997, the western population (west of 144 longitude) of Steller sea lions was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. In April 1998, plaintiffs (Greenpeace, the American Oceans Campaign, and the Sierra Club) filed suit against NMFS challenging the FMPs under both the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Protection Act. In December 1998, NMFS issued a Biological Opinion that the Alaska pollock fisheries proposed for the years 1999 to 2002 were likely to jeopardize the continued existence of Steller sea lions and modify its critical habitat. As a result, numerous management actions were taken via emergency rule and standard rulemaking to temporally and spatially disperse the pollock fisheries, and establish numerous no-trawl zones around rookeries and haulouts. Amendment 70 implemented a package of protection measures specific to Steller sea lions, including establishing critical habitat areas where fishing for pollock (and Pacific cod and Atka mackerel) is prohibited.