A proposed plan for abundance-based management of halibut caught in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI) groundfish fisheries would base the limit on halibut prohibited species catch (PSC) on the most recent halibut abundance estimates.
NOAA Fisheries is seeking comment through Feb. 7 on the plan, which would implement Amendment 123 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the BSAI and establish abundance-based management of the Amendment 80 trawl sector PSC limit for Pacific halibut.
While the halibut resource has declined, the allowable PSC in the BSAI has remained the same.
If approved, Amendment 123 would allow NOAA Fisheries to set the halibut PSC limit based on halibut abundance indices from the most recent annual International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) setline survey. For halibut, the amendment would permit the agency to set the halibut PSC limit based on the most recent results of NOAA’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center’s Eastern Bering Sea shelf trawl survey index.
The Amendment 80 sector consists of nearly 20 trawl catcher-processor vessels that target Pacific cod, Pacific Ocean perch, Atka mackerel, and Rock, Yellowfin, and Flathead sole in the Bering Sea.
The Amendment 80 fleet has reduced halibut mortality in recent years, but NOAA Fisheries has determined that the continued decline of halibut stocks requires consideration of additional measures for management of halibut PSC in Amendment 80 fisheries.
Amendment 123 was initiated by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council during its December 2021 meeting in order to minimize the PSC catch of halibut as much as possible without compromising the fleet’s ability to get optimum yield in the BSAI groundfish fisheries.
Under the current BSAI fishery management plan, the annual halibut mortality PSC limit for the Amendment 80 fleet is set at 1,745 metric tons.
That total has not changed as halibut abundance in the area has declined, and the Amendment 80 fleet is accountable for most of the annual halibut PSC mortality in the BSAI groundfish fisheries. NOAA notes that from 2010 through 2020, the Amendment 80 fleet accounted for roughly 60% of the overall BSAI groundfish trawl PSC mortality.
Amendment 123, if approved, would allow NOAA Fisheries to set the halibut PSC limit annually for the Amendment 80 fleet based on halibut abundance indices from the most recent IPHC setline survey in Area 4ABCDE, and most recent results of NOAA’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center’s Eastern Bering Sea shelf trawl survey index for halibut.
Reducing halibut PSC with declining abundance provides conservation benefits, as defined by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and may also provide additional fishing opportunities for commercial halibut harvesters.
NOAA Fisheries said the regulation is expected to be implemented prior to the 2024 BSAI groundfish fishing season.
Public comments on Amendment 123 may be mailed to Josh Keaton, acting assistant regional administrator, at the NOAA, or submitted online at regulations.gov. Use this address for comments by mail: Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region, NOAA Fisheries, Attn. Susan Meyer, Docket Number NOAA-NMFS-2022-0088, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802-1668.
