Purpose and Need

Amendment 5 was prompted by a previously unrealized bycatch of grenadiers in the longline fishery for sablefish. Grenadiers, otherwise known as rattails for their slim, pointed appearance, are an abundant, deepwater fish caught incidental to other deepwater roundfish. Although grenadiers are not a commercially valuable species, by 1979 they had comprised as high as 66% of the total foreign sablefish catch in the Gulf of Alaska and were recognized as a significant bycatch problem.  

The original FMP identified three separate species categories: 1) prohibited; 2) specific species or species complexes; and 3) other species. The FMP would place grenadiers in the “other species” category, which had a Maximum Sustainable Yield/Optimum Yield (MSY/OY) of 16,200 mt as a whole. Including the grenadier catch in the total catch assessed for “other species” that are also taken incidentally in the longline and trawl fisheries would cause the fisheries to quickly exceed the “other species” MSY/OY and potentially close the directed fisheries before the allocation for the target species was reached. Amendment 5 would establish a new, distinct category for grenadiers with a separate MSY/OY.  

The Council, noting the need for a long-term solution, also began developing a fourth FMP species category that would include all fish caught incidental to other species and not used commercially for any purpose. Eventually this category would include grenadiers, as well as about 20 other vertebrate and invertebrate species of no commercial value. However, because the viability of the foreign fisheries was immediately threatened, the Council viewed Amendment 5 as a timely, short-term solution that could be implemented while a fourth category was being developed. 

Analysis

A 5-page environmental assessment (dated 1979) was prepared for this amendment. Three alternatives were considered, including no action. The action alternative not chosen would have created a new species category comprised of fish for which there is no commercial value, and which are discarded at sea. This alternative was rejected primarily because of the time constraints imposed; the foreign fisheries demanded immediate relief were they to continue to prosecute the target fisheries without the threat of an early closure due to incidental grenadier catch. This alternative remained favorable as a long-term solution, while the preferred action would remedy the current situation.

Regulation Summary

Amendment 5 created a new species category specifically for grenadiers with a separate domestic annual harvest, total allowable level of foreign fishing, and MSY/OY of 13,200 mt. The MSY/OY was based on the recorded average grenadier catch for the previous twelve years. Since the grenadier population was not considered in the development of the OY for the “other species” category, that category’s OY remained the same. The deletion of grenadiers from the “other species” category was published in a separate rule on June 29, 1979 (44 FR 37937). 

Results

Amendment 5 removed grenadier catches from the accumulated total of “other species” to a separate category of ‘rattails, grenadiers’ with a separate MSY/OY, thus allowing a reasonable effort on allocations of sablefish and other valuable target species with the threat of a premature closure by exceeding the allocation for “other species”. This reduced the threat of an early closure in the foreign longline and trawl fisheries. 

In 1980, grenadiers were placed in the “non-specified species” category under Amendment 8. Amendment 87 (effective in 2010) eliminated the “non-specified species” category and removed grenadiers from the FMP, however as of 2015 grenadiers were included in the “ecosystem component” category under Amendment 91 (BSAI Amendment