95 Skates as a Target Species
Purpose and Need
As part of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006 (MSRA), new requirements for annual catch limits (ACLs) and accountability measures (AMs) were introduced to reinforce existing requirements to prevent overfishing and rebuild fisheries. This measure was to be immediately applied to overfished fisheries, but could be delayed until the 2011 fishing year for fisheries not overfished. Since none of the Alaska groundfish fisheries were overfished the implementation of ACLs and AMs could be delayed until 2011. Additionally, BSAI and GOA groundfish FMPs were out of compliance with the “other species” management strategy National Standard 1 (NS1) guidelines set in 2009. Each year the overfishing limit (OFL), acceptable biological catch (ABC), and total allowable catch (TAC) are established for the “other species” group as a whole. For this reason, NS1 standards dictated that the “other species” category must be comprised of species with similar life histories. The FMPs combined the management of shortlived invertebrates like squid and octopus with long-lived vertebrates like shark and skate. In the BSAI FMP skate, shark, sculpin, and octopus groups were managed as a complex, and in the GOA FMP shark, sculpin, octopus, and squid were managed as a complex. NMFS trawl surveys and catch information showed the 15 species of skate inhabited the BSAI, with different species abundances occurring in each sub-region. Based on the new information available, the Council decided to address the current management strategy of managing the skate group as a whole or individual skate species in the BSAI.
Analysis
A 32-page EA was prepared for Amendment 95, which analyzed 3 alternatives. The preferred alternative identified was moving skates from the “other species” category to the “target species” category and establishing a “pollock/Atka mackerel/skates/‘other species’” category for setting halibut PSC limit. An alternative considered but not carried forward was to establish skate MRAs at levels equal to average catches between years 2006 and 2008 in the groundfish fishery, but was not carried forward because it did not adequately address the problem statement.
Regulation Summary
BSAI Amendment 95 moves skates from the “other species” category to “target species” so that specific management strategies can be applied to individual skate species in the BSAI groundfish fishery. This amendment allows for better application of best available science in determining TAC, OFL, and ABC for skate species.
Results
Conservation has increased as catch specifications have been set separately for the skate species complex.