Purpose and Need

Pacific ocean perch (POP) stocks were subject to intense foreign fishing that began in 1962 and 1963, peaking with harvests of over 340,000 mt in 1965. In the late 1970s, foreign harvests of POP were under 15,000 mt and the stocks remained severely overfished. Foreign trawlers fishing in Southeast Alaska waters were also taking incidental catches of halibut, a prohibited species for trawlers, but a major target fishery for domestic longline fishermen. The 1978-79 average incidental halibut catch by foreign fleets was 967 mt, or about 24% of the domestic directed harvest, with an ex-vessel value of nearly $4 million in the Eastern Regulatory Area.

There were also recorded incidents of conflicts between foreign trawlers and domestic longline fishermen that needed to be resolved. The Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association estimated that in 1980 alone, gear conflicts with foreign trawlers resulted in losses between $2,500 and $20,000 each.

The purpose of Amendment 10 was to rebuild the POP stock and protect domestic halibut fisheries in southeast Alaska by reducing the incidental catch of unallocated species in the Eastern Regulatory Area. Additionally, this action sought to prevent gear conflicts between foreign trawlers and domestic fishermen by closing certain areas to foreign fishing.

Analysis

A 10-page environmental assessment (undated) was prepared for this plan amendment. The analysis included four alternatives, including the no action alternative. One alternative was to adopt only one of the two changes proposed in Amendment 10, but this alternative would have failed to address all of the purposes described. Another alternative included several associated options which would have modified the proposed changes in a number of ways, however each of these options was considered unacceptable.

Regulation Summary

The amendment included two main parts. First, it reduced the acceptable biological catch for POP from 29,000 mt in the Eastern Regulatory Area, to 875 mt, the OY from 14,400 mt to 875 mt, and allowed domestic and foreign fisheries 500 mt and 200 mt, respectively, for bycatch purposes. Second, Federal waters east of 140 W were closed to all foreign fishing, and only pelagic trawling with recording netsonde devices was allowed in waters between 140 and 147 W all year. All domestic fishing sanctuaries east of 140W were consequently deleted as they were no longer necessary.

Results

These closures and adjustments to the POP harvest specifications reduced incidental bycatch of halibut and helped set the stage for later rebuilding of the POP stock. The rebuilding plan was established under Amendment 32 in 1994, and the stock was considered rebuilt in 1996. The trawling restrictions on foreign vessels off Southeast were very significant at the time and represented one more step along the way to complete Americanization of Gulf of Alaska fisheries. No foreign vessels caught or processed fish in the Gulf of Alaska after 1988. Amendment 41 later banned domestic trawling in Southeast Alaska, starting in the year 2000.