Executive Summary

• Main Authors: Bering Sea, Non-chinook Salmon, Diana L. Stram, North Pacific, Fishery Management Council
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: Bering Sea; Aleutian Islands
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.295.3038; http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/npfmc/PDFdocuments/bycatch/ChumEA_InitRev_312.pdf

provide decision-makers and the public with an evaluation of the predicted environmental, social, and economic effects of alternative measures to minimize non-Chinook (primarily chum and referred herein as such) PSC in the Bering Sea pollock fishery. The area of the fishery and major river systems are depicted in Figure ES-1. The proposed action is to amend the Bering Sea Aleutian Islands groundfish fishery management plan (FMP) and federal regulations to establish new measures to reduce chum salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock fishery to the extent practicable while achieving optimum yield. The proposed action is focused on the Bering Sea pollock fishery because this fishery catches the majority of the chum salmon taken incidentally as bycatch in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) groundfish fisheries. Since 2005 the pollock fishery contribution to the total non-Chinook bycatch has ranged from 88 % in 2010 to 99.3 % in 2005. Any amendment to the FMP must comply with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) and all other applicable federal laws. With respect to the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the amendment must be consistent with all ten national standards. The most relevant for this action are National Standard 9, which requires that conservation and management