99 Adjustment of the Maximum Length Overall on BSAI Freezer Longline License Limitation Program Licenses
Purpose and Need
The purpose of the amendment was to establish a process for owners of BSAI freezer longline (hook-and-line catcher/ processor) vessels that fish for Pacific cod to establish a process to replace or rebuild their vessels to a length greater than that specified under the restrictions of the License Limitation Program (LLP) and the American Fisheries Act. The action was deemed necessary to improve the retention and utilization of groundfish catch by these vessels consistent with the BSAI FMP and other applicable law, to improve economic efficiency, and to promote safety-at-sea by requiring newly built vessels to meet modern vessel safety standards. At the time Amendment 99 was adopted by the Council in 2012, the average age of vessels in the fleet was about 40 years old, with 30 percent of the fleet built before 1946. Vessel lengths were between 107 feet and 180 feet length overall (LOA), and the vessels were not designed specifically to target groundfish.
Analysis
A 53-page RIR analysis was prepared for Amendment 99. In addition to the status quo, the analysis considered an alternative to increase the maximum length overall (MLOA) listed on BSAI freezer longline LLP license by 20 percent, not to exceed 150 feet MLOA (Alternative 2), as well as the Council’s preferred alternative to replace the existing MLOA on all eligible licenses with an MLOA of 220 feet. The analysis included options, which were not ultimately selected, which limited how a replaced vessel could be used in the BSAI fisheries. The Council did select an option under Alternative 3 that required the LLP owner to surrender the license’s pot cod endorsement unless the owner chose to keep the MLOA on that license unchanged. The Council also included language to allow replacement vessels built within the larger MLOA to be given a certificate of documentation to fish in Alaska waters. The analysis described that the amendment provides an opportunity for increased utilization of existing catch. The concern about the MLOA increase affecting other fisheries is small because the other fisheries in which they could potentially participate are constrained by sector allocations or IFQs. The first initial review draft considered including the GOA freezer longline fishery in the amendment, but the Council explicitly chose to limit this action to the BSAI. Exclusively GOA-endorsed vessels are much smaller than their BSAI counterparts, and no operational concerns had been identified by the Council compared to the specific problems in the BSAI freezer longline cod fishery.
Regulation Summary
Amendment 99 increased the maximum length overall (MLOA) on all LLP licenses with catcher/processor and hook-and-line Pacific cod endorsements for the BS or AI to 220 feet LOA, and clarified that vessels named on these LLP licenses would be authorized for use in the EEZ under the jurisdiction of the Council (clarifying that these vessels are eligible to receive a certificate of documentation consistent with American Fisheries Act (AFA) and the Department of Transportation Maritime Administration (MARAD) regulations. The regulation also identified that owners of LLP licenses with catcher/processor and pot cod endorsements would have 36 months from the implementation of the amendment to either surrender the pot cod endorsements and receive a LLP license at 220 feet MLOA, or the current LLP length restriction would continue to apply.
Results
Since the implementation of this alternative, two new freezer longline vessels have been built in Alaska to replace vessels in the fleet.