92 Rescind Latent Trawl Gear Licenses
Purpose and Need
In the mid to late 1990s, the Council developed the License Limitation Program (LLP) to address capacity concerns and take a first step toward rationalization of the groundfish fisheries under its management. The LLP established criteria for the issuance of licenses to persons based on fishing history of vessels. Generally, a vessel participating in groundfish fisheries in Federal waters in the BSAI or GOA is required to have an LLP license with the applicable area endorsement and designated for the gear (trawl or non-trawl) and operation type (catcher processor or catcher vessel) and of sufficient MLOA. After fishing under the program began in 2000, public testimony and review of landings data made NMFS aware that a large number of trawl LLP licenses were not being used for fishing in some, or all, of the regulatory areas for which they were endorsed. A review of “latent” LLP licenses – valid LLP licenses that were unused – was initiated after active trawl fishermen expressed that should latent LLP licenses become active it would adversely affect their fishing operations. So, in June 2006, the Council identified the need to reduce the future potential for an increase in trawl groundfish fishing effort from LLPs currently unused or underutilized in all areas. They noted that LLP holders currently fishing the BSAI and GOA groundfish trawl fisheries have made significant investments, have long catch histories, and are economically dependent on the groundfish resources from these areas. The intent of this action was to provide protection for currently participating permit holders from those permit holders who could re-enter the fisheries in the future using a latent license.
Analysis
A 6-page EA and 66-page RIR analysis were prepared for this amendment. Two action alternatives to implement landing criteria to retail trawl LLP area endorsements and four components were considered. The components addressed landings thresholds, multiple LLPs stacked on a single vessel, exempting Amendment 80 licenses from the CG and WG thresholds, and adding new AI endorsements to trawl LLPs. The Council selected Alternative 3, Component 1, Options 3 and 5 as the preferred package and noted that the action represents a modest step between the status quo and a rationalized trawl fishery. Exemptions were established primarily because the participants in the rationalization programs have already met specified and more detailed thresholds for these specific management areas.
Regulation Summary
Amendment 92 consists of two different actions.
1) Latent LLP licenses that have not more at least two landings using trawl gear between the years 2000 and 2006 in a particular endorsement area will have that area removed from the LLP.
2) The issuance of new and additional trawl CV AI area endorsements for the Aleutian Islands subarea.
There were two exemptions to the forfeiture of latent LLP licenses:
1) Vessels with an LLP license that made more than 20 landings in at least one of the areas of the GOA from 2005 to 2007 may continue to hold an endorsement in both the Central Gulf (CG) and Western Gulf (WG). This exemption also allows trawl vessels participating in the CG to keep their WG endorsement because the TAC in the WG had not been fully harvested in recent years.
2) Vessels with LLP licenses assigned to Limited Access Privilege Programs (LAPPs). Exemptions for LLP licenses assigned to AFA vessels, the CG Rockfish Program, and the Amendment 80 Program allowed for the fulfillment of the goals of the programs, which is to facilitate the development of cooperatives.
Results
Capacity has been further constrained, while providing sufficient participation for AI trawl CVs.