[THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK] EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• Main Authors: National Marine, Fisheries Service
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2006
• Subjects: Bering Sea; Aleutian Islands
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.74.9738; http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/npfmc/current_issues/bycatch/MRA1106.pdf

This document is an Environmental Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review/Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (EA/RIR/IRFA) for a proposed regulatory amendment to modify the current interval of time allowed for determining the maximum retainable amount (MRA) of selected groundfish species that can be retained by a vessel in the non-American Fishery Act (AFA) trawl catcher processor (C/P) sector. Non-AFA trawl C/Ps operating in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) are those that are not listed aw AFA C/Ps at 50 CFR 679.4(l)(2)(i). This proposed action would change MRA regulations located at 50 CFR 679.20(e) that establish the calculation method and MRAs for groundfish species that are closed to directed fishing by increasing the interval of time each vessel in this sector would have to retain the MRA specified in regulation. These modifications also would apply when the non-AFA C/Ps participate in any Community Development Quota (CDQ) fishery in which MRAs are used to limit retention of the selected groundfish species. MRAs are the primary tool used by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to regulate the catch of species closed to directed fishing during a fishing year. MRA regulations located at 50 CFR 679.20(e) establish the calculation method and MRA percentages for groundfish species that are closed to directed fishing. The MRA is calculated as a percentage of the retained amount of species closed to directed fishing relative to the retained amount of basis species or species groups open for directed fishing. Table 11 in 50 CFR 679 (see Appendix 2) lists retainable percentages for BSAI groundfish species. Amounts that are caught in excess of the MRA percentage must be discarded. Potential environmental, economic and other distributional effects of the No Action Alternative, Alternative 2 and Alternative 3 are highlighted in the following EA, RIR, and IRFA portion of this executive summary and in