INITIAL REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY ANALYSIS OF PROVISIONS DEFINING ACTIVE PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ACQUISITION AND USE OF OWNER SHARES For a proposed Regulatory Amendment to Implement ___ _ to the Fishery Management Plan

• Main Authors: For Bering Sea, Aleutian Isl, S King, Tanner Crabs
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: Bering Sea; Aleutian Island
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.278.4202; http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/npfmc/PDFdocuments/catch_shares/Crab/CrabOwnerParticipation213.pdf

ii Executive Summary Access to the Bering Sea and Aleutian Island crab fisheries is regulated through the allocation of harvest share privileges (or shares). Holders of long term shares, known as quota shares (QS), receive an annual allocation of individual fishing quota (IFQ), representing a privilege to harvest a certain number of pounds of crab during that year. Under the program, 97 percent of the QS pool was initially allocated to holders of limited entry permits under the previous management program. These QS are known as “owner ” QS. Under the management program, these owner QS are transferable to any person who meets a minimum sea time requirement; thereafter, holders of these owner shares may maintain those holdings without any further or continuing qualification. At its December 2011 meeting, after receiving a report reviewing the first 5 years of fishing under the current crab management program, the Council directed staff to analyze alternatives to establish active participation requirements for the acquisition of owner shares and retention of those newly acquired owner shares. 1 Purpose and need statement The Council has adopted the following the problem statement for this action: Alternatives