Environmental Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review/Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis for Amendment 79 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area - Minimum Groundfish Retention Standard (IR/IU Trailing Amendment C)

This document is an Environmental Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review/Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (EA/RIR/IRFA) for proposed Amendment 79 to the Bering Sea / Aleutian Islands (BSAI) Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The action proposes to implement groundfish retention standards (GRS) for head and gut trawl catcher processors operating in the BSAI that are not listed American Fisheries Act (AFA) catcher/processors at 50 CFR 679.4(l)(2)(I). These unlisted catcher processing vessels, are referred to as (HT-CPs) in this analysis. Only HT-CP vessels 125 ft. and greater harvesting groundfish in the BSAI. In 2004, there were 16 active HT-CP 125' ft. and greater, LOA. NOAA The administrative record of the Council discussion concerning Amendment 79 states that “Fishery management is about achieving conservation objectives, achieving social and economic objectives, and meeting the letter of the law and the intent and spirit of the law...Our intention, and our purpose and our need here, is to address the multiple requirements of the Magnuson Act to balance conservation goals and reduce bycatch, and still maintain the opportunity to go out and meet other considerations such as having an economic fishery” (NPFMC ,2003b). 2005 NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) AKR (Alaska Region) Submitted Public Domain 1861