Prepared by

• Main Authors: National Marine, Fisheries Service
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bering Sea; Gulf of Alaska; Tac; Alaska
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.294.8261; http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/sustainablefisheries/amds/amd45/goaam45prea.pdf

representatives of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) pollock fishery to combine the third and fourth quarterly pollock allowances in the Western and Central (W/C) Regulatory Areas of the GOA. Under this proposal, the first and second quarterly allowances would remain unchanged; 25 percent of the total allowable catch (TAC) on January 1 and 25 percent of the TAC on June 1. However, the third and fourth quarterly allowances would be combined into a third seasonal allowance of 50 percent of the TAC. This original proposal contained a September 15 opening date for the final combined seasonal allowance. However, representatives for Bering Sea-based processors and vessels objected to scheduling a Western Regulatory Area pollock opening in September because it would conflict with the Bering Sea non-roe season. At its January 1996 meeting, the Council considered three opening date options for the final combined seasonal allowance (September 1, September 15 and October 1) and approved approved a compromise proposal, supported by a broad coalition of Bering Sea and central GOA-based processors and vessels. This compromise proposal would establish an October 1 opening date in the Western Regulatory Area and a September 1 opening date in the Central Regulatory Area. The Council believed that separate third season opening dates for the Western and Central Regulatory Areas would achieve the objectives outlined above while causing the least amount of dislocation for current participants in the fishery.