94 Modifying Amendment 80 Cooperative Formation Criteria
Purpose and Need
A major component of the BSAI Amendment 89 EA was the analysis of trawl sweep modification in the nonpelagic trawl flatfish fishery. While the Council supported gear modification, they felt that further research and refinement of the specific details of the gear modification were required before it could be implemented. The Council deferred a specific decision regarding modification and implementation until June 2008 with the promise that once trawl gear modification was implemented a portion of the Northern Bering Sea Research Area (NBSRA) could be reopened to the trawl flatfish fishery. Participants in the fishery would be required to modify their trawl sweeps in a manner later decided by the Council. The potential to re-open the flatfish trawl fishery in the NBSRA was incentive for the fishing industry to work out technological and implementation issues associated with trawl gear modification. Amendment 94 was the vehicle to implement what had been left out of Amendment 89 because of the lack of available information.
Analysis
A 203-page EA and RIR were prepared, with two alternatives to the status quo. Both implemented a requirement for use of the trawl sweep modification in Bering Sea flatfish target fisheries, however the Council preferred Alternative 3, which additionally reopened a small subarea of the Northern Bering Sea Research Area to non-pelagic trawl fishing for any target species, provided the vessels used the trawl sweep modification. An option in the analysis, also preferred by the Council, analyzed an adjustment to the eastern boundary of the SMIHCA to protect blue king crab habitat. Finally, the amendment included four housekeeping changes to the BSAI FMP: to remove reference to the Crab and Halibut Protection Zone in the BSAI FMP; to renumber and cross reference figures and tables; to adjust the northern boundary of the NBSRA to abut at Bering Strait; and to update the Community Development Quota (CDQ) eligibility list to be consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act. The RIR analysis described costs associated with implementing modified trawl gear. The analysis found that implementing the trawl sweep modification would incur a one-time per-vessel cost for installation (estimates ranged from $0-$800,000), but that the annual cost of the modified gear may be offset by the elevated disks minimizing wear and tear on the trawl sweeps, and extending their useful life.
Regulation Summary
Amendment 94 required vessels participating in a Sea flatfish nonpelagic trawl fishery to use modified trawl gear in order to protect benthic habitat. In addition, a section of the Northern Bering Sea Research Area, called the Modified Gear Trawl Zone (MGTZ), was re-opened to nonpelagic trawl fishing for any species. Within the MGTZ, modified sweeps must be used on nonpelagic trawl gear regardless of the target fishery. The boundary of the St. Matthew Island Habitat Conservation Area (SMIHCA) was extended eastward to protect blue king crab habitat. A number of housekeeping items were also addressed.
Results
Implementation of nonpelagic trawl sweep modification was delayed until the start of the fishing year 2011, to ensure that all vessels had sufficient time to make any structural adjustments necessary to accommodate the use of modified sweeps. The trawl sweep modification requirement was subsequently extended to Central Gulf of Alaska trawl flatfish fisheries in GOA FMP Amendment 89.