Environmental Assessment for the Issuance of an Exempted Fishing Permit to Test a Trawl Gear Modification to Reduce Bycatch Rates for Pacific Halibut in the Central Gulf of Alaska Pacific Cod Trawl Fishery

The proposed exempted fishing permit (EFP) supports a project to test a device on trawl gear that may reduce Pacific halibut bycatch rates for the for Central Gulf of Alaska (GOA) trawl fishery. Pacific halibut bycatch is controlled by a prohibited species catch (PSC) limit that is essentially a common property quota. Once reached, PSC limits trigger the closure of a fishery regardless of the target species quota available for harvest. These closures impose a cost on the industry in the form of unharvested quota. A reduction in bycatch rates for PSC may allow the fishery to harvest a greater proportion of the total allowable catch quota for certain groundfish species. One method to reduce bycatch rates is to install trawl gear devices that exclude non-target species such as Pacific halibut. The proposed EFP will test a new halibut excluder device designed to reduce halibut bycatch. The proposed EFP is also consistent with Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act National Standard 9 which seeks to minimize bycatch and bycatch mortality. 2008 NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) AKR (Alaska Region) Submitted Public Domain 1862