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G28 Vessel Moratorium

Purpose and Need

In 1987, concerned with excess harvesting capacity in the groundfish, crab, and halibut fisheries of the BSAI and GOA, the Council established a committee to examine the problem of overcapitalization. Upon concluding that allocation conflicts and overcapitalization would worsen under the current open access system, the committee recommended a limited access management approach for these three fisheries. Concerned with the potential for speculative entry into the fisheries during discussions of management alternatives, NMFS published a control date notice of February 9, 1992. Anyone not having previously participated in the fisheries before that date would not be assured future access to the fisheries should a limited access system be adopted.

The purpose of this amendment was to provide for an interim measure to slow significant increases in the harvesting capacity of the groundfish and crab fishing fleets until a Comprehensive Rationalization Plan (CRP) could be implemented.  The CRP, which continues to be developed by the Council, is intended to resolve the overall issue of overcapitalization on a long-term basis, and transition the fisheries from an open access management system to a more market-based, limited access system.  Without the regulatory ability to institute a moratorium, the Council feared that potentially unlimited new entry into the fishery would exacerbate overcapitalization and hinder the ultimate development of a successful CRP. The anticipated short-term effects of the amendment included increasing economic benefits to fishermen and reducing the risk of overfishing. 

Regulation Summary

After several proposed moratoriums, the final rule required a moratorium permit for vessels within specific vessel categories that harvest groundfish and BSAI crab resources off Alaska. Generally, a vessel qualified for a moratorium permit if it made a legal landing of any moratorium species during the qualifying period of January 1, 1988 through February 9, 1992. In addition, a vessel that made a legal landing during the qualifying period, in either a groundfish or crab fishery, but not both, can cross over as a new vessel in the fishery in which it did not made a legal landing in the qualifying period provided: 1) it uses the same gear type in the new fishery as it used to qualify for the moratorium in the other fishery; or 2) it made a legal landing in the crossover fishery during the qualifying period and it uses only the same gear type it used in that period.

Analysis

A 22-page supplemental analysis (final draft dated February 1995) was prepared for the final resubmittal of the proposed moratorium for these amendments, which were originally approved by the Council in 1992. The supplemental analysis outlined the changes from the original moratorium proposal: revision  of the qualification period, halibut and sablefish qualification, consideration of current participation, crossovers, and the appeals process. The analysis also indicated that the revised moratorium would allow 4,144 unique vessels in the crab and groundfish fisheries, about 1,800 more than the current participant fleet but significantly less than the 15,709 unique vessels that participated in the fisheries since 1978 that had the potential to re-enter if no action was taken. 

Results

Since the amendment was approved, the Council has implemented the License Limitation Program (LLP) to limit entry into the groundfish and crab fisheries off of Alaska. As anticipated, the LLP (Amendment 60 to the BSAI FMP/Amendment 58 to the GOA FMP/Amendment 10 to the BSAI Crab FMP) replaced the vessel moratorium established in these amendments starting in the 2000 fishing season. For general licenses, the base qualifying period established was January 1, 1988, through June 27, 1992, approximately four months longer than the moratorium qualification period, in order to be consistent with the Council’s published cutoff date for qualification under the Comprehensive Rationalization Plan. The LLP also required an area endorsement for the BSAI or the GOA, to provide for present participation in the fisheries (the qualifying period being January 1, 1992 through June 17, 1995). The moratorium established by Amendments 23 and 28 limited speculative entry into the fisheries while the LLP was being developed and approved, and kept the overcapitalization situation from worsening during development of the long-term Comprehensive Rationalization Plan. In addition, the moratorium qualifications could be transferred to other vessels (provided that the length of the new vessel was the same or less than the original), and so helped provide a basis for the LLP transfer process.

Sibling Amendments

Scallop Amendment 2 BSAI Groundfish Amendment 23 Crab Amendment 4