At this meeting, the Council reviewed a discussion paper that evaluated additional solutions to the C. bairdi crab IPQ use cap issue. The Council recommended no further action on this agenda item at this time. The discussion paper provided a brief analysis of three options: 1) raise the C. bairdi crab IPQ use cap to… Read More →
Norton Sound Red King Crab
The final Norton Sound red king crab assessment was reviewed by the SSC, AP and Council in order to set catch specifications for the 2017 fishery. This stock has a separate specifications timing in order to accommodate the CDQ fishery which can open in early May. The stock is healthy, with an estimated mature male… Read More →
BSAI Yellowfin Sole Trawl Limited Access Entry
At this meeting, the Council made an initial review of an analysis of management measures to limit access for trawl catcher vessels targeting Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) trawl limited access (TLA) yellowfin sole for delivery of the catch to a mothership or catcher processor. The management measures under consideration also include an option… Read More →
Squid to Ecosystem Component Category
The Council reviewed an EA/RIR/IRFA to evaluate moving squid stocks in both the BSAI Groundfish FMP and the GOA Groundfish FMP into the Ecosystem Component (EC) category. Newly revised National Standard 1 guidelines include options to identify non-target species in FMPs (species caught incidentally during the pursuit of target stocks in a fishery) that do… Read More →
BSAI Harvest Specifications for 2017/2018
The Council approved the BSAI Groundfish SAFE report and annual catch limits based on recommendations from its advisory committees. The sum of the total allowable catches (TACs) or quotas for all BSAI groundfish is 2 million t for 2017 and 2018. The TACs were set below the sum of the recommended ABCs. The sum of… Read More →
