Purpose and Need

The primary purpose was to provide additional opportunities for growth in domestic fisheries.  U.S. fishermen who delivered fish to foreign processing vessels indicated that the existing domestic annual harvests (DAHs) would not allow joint venture (JV, a component of DAH) operations to continue, because the amounts of certain species (pollock, yellowfin sole, other flatfish, Atka mackerel, and other species) allocated to DAH were insufficient.  Additionally, the abundance of Pacific cod had increased due to a strong 1977 year-class entering the fishery, so Amendment 4 also increased the ABC and OY for Pacific cod.  Amendment 4 was also implemented to allow foreign fishing between 3 to 12 miles in the Aleutian Islands, so that they could catch their groundfish allocations. Previously, foreign fisheries were only allowed to operate outside of 12 miles, but the continental shelf is very narrow in this area, making fishing impracticable and thus the catch could not be taken. In its original draft, Amendment 4 would have provided more flexibility and timeliness of conservation measures by giving the Secretary authority to issue field orders for adjusting time/area closures. This part was disapproved because Athe amendment failed to specify adequately the procedures, limits, and types of responses that could be made in issuing such orders.

Analysis

A 16 page Environmental Assessment was prepared for this amendment.  Eight alternatives including the status quo were considered.  Essentially, the alternatives considered were different combinations of the management actions contained in this amendment.

Regulation Summary

Amendment 4 allowed foreign trawling outside 3 miles north of the Aleutians between 17030 W and 170W and south of the Aleutians between 170W and 172W, and allowed foreign longlining outside 3 miles west of 170W longitude.  Amendment 4 also changed the specifications for yellowfin sole, other flatfish, and Pacific cod as follows:

Pollock: DAH increased from 19,550 mt to 74,500 mt, JVP increased from 9,050 mt to 64,000 mt.  TALFF decreased from 930,450 mt to 875,500 mt.

Yellowfin sole: DAH increased from 26,200 mt to 31,200 mt, JVP increased from 25,000 mt to 30,000 mt. TALFF decreased from 84,950 mt to 79,950 mt.

Other flatfish: DAH increased from 4,200 mt to 11,200 mt, JVP increased from  3,000 mt to 10,000 mt. TALFF decreased from 53,750 mt to 46,750 mt.

Atka mackerel: DAH increased from 100 mt to 14,500 mt,  JVP increased from 100 mt to 14,500 mt TALFF decreased from 23,460 mt to 9,060 mt.

Other species: DAH increased from 2,000 mt to 7,800 mt, JVP increased from 200 mt to 6,000 mt. TALFF decreased from 68,537 mt to 65,648 mt. 

ABC corrected to be 79,714 mt, OY to 77,314 mt, and reserves to 3,566 mt.

Other rockfish: DAP set at 1,100 mt for BSAI area combined.

POP: DAP set at 550 mt for Bering Sea and 550 mt for Aleutians. JVP set at 830 mt for Bering Sea and 830 mt for Aleutians.

Sablefish: JVP set at 200 mt for Bering Sea and 200 mt for Aleutians. MSY set at 11,600 mt for Bering Sea and 1,900 mt for Aleutians.

Pacific cod: EY and ABC increased from 160,000 mt to 168,000 mt, OY increased from 78,700 mt to 120,000 mt.

Reserve increased from 3,935 mt to 6,000 mt, TALFF increased from 31,500 mt to 70,735 mt.

Results

Allocations of catch were frameworked under Amendment 1 in 1984.