Responsible Official:

• Main Authors: National Marine, Fisheries Service, The, Steven Pennoyer
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2000
• Subjects: Pacific; alaska pollock; Alaska
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.153.7557; http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/analyses/ssl/stellerea012000.pdf

the continued existence of the endangered western population of Steller sea lions, and (2) adversely modify its critical habitat. To avoid jeopardy, NMFS published an emergency interim rule effective January 20, 1999 through July 19, 1999 that modified the Alaska pollock fisheries according to principles for reasonable and prudent alternatives in the Biological Opinion. Upon recommendation by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council), NMFS then extended this emergency rule through December 31, 1999. In October 1999, NMFS issued Revised Final Reasonable and Prudent Alternatives (RFRPAs). This permanent rule is necessary to bring the Alaska pollock fisheries into compliance with the Endangered Species Act after the current emergency rule expires. The proposed action contains three categories of management measures to (1) temporally disperse fishing effort, and (2) spatially disperse fishing effort, and (3) provide protection from fisheries competition in waters immediately adjacent to rookeries and important haulouts. Environmental issues associated with the proposed action include effects on Steller sea lions and other marine mammal species such as killer whales, northern fur seals, and Pacific harbor seals; seabirds; forage fish; pollock; and essential fish habitat. Economic issues include cost and earnings performance by sector and region, inter-sectoral competition, intra-sectoral and geographic distribution of catch and revenues, length and timing of fishing periods (including “stand downs ” between fishing periods), catch per unit effort