BSAI Flatfish Specifications Flexibility
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ITEM C-2(a) APRIL 2013 PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFT REGULATORY IMPACT REVIEW / INITIAL REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY ANALYSIS For a proposed amendment to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area Bering Sea Flatfish Harvest Specifications Flexibility March 2013 Abstract: This document analyzes a proposed action that would allocate the ABC surplus (i.e., the difference between acceptable biological catch and total allowable catch) for flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole, among the Amendment 80 cooperatives and CDQ groups, using the same formulas that are used in the annual harvest specifications process. These entities would be able to exchange their quota share of one of the three species (flathead sole, rock sole, and/or yellowfin sole) for an equivalent amount of their allocation of the ABC surplus for another (flathead sole, rock sole, and/or yellowfin sole). The approach is intended to increase the opportunity for maximizing the harvest of these species, while ensuring that the overall 2 million mt optimum yield, and ABCs for each individual species, are not exceeded. The analysis also includes options to restrict flexibility in the exchange of yellowfin sole, if the analysis shows that there is a potential negative impact of the approach on users of yellowfin sole in the Bering Sea Aleutian Islands trawl limited access sector. The proposed action would amend the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area and Federal regulations related to the Bering Sea / Aleutian Islands. North Pacific Fishery Management Council 605 W. 4th Avenue, Suite 306, Anchorage, Alaska 99501 Tel: (907) 271-2809 www.alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/npfmc ITEM C-2(a) APRIL 2013 ITEM C-2(a) APRIL 2013 Table of Contents Executive Summary .................................................................................................................. 1 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 5 1.1 History of this Action .................................................................................................................. 5 1.2 Statutory Authority for this Action .............................................................................................. 6 2 Purpose and Need ............................................................................................................ 6 3 Alternatives ....................................................................................................................... 7 3.1 Alternative 1 ............................................................................................................................... 8 3.2 Alternative 2 ............................................................................................................................... 9 3.3 Alternative 3 ............................................................................................................................. 12 3.4 Options .................................................................................................................................... 13 3.5 Alternatives Considered but not Further Analyzed .................................................................. 14 4 Description of the Fisheries .......................................................................................... 14 4.1 Amendment 80 sector ............................................................................................................. 14 4.1.1 Flathead Sole, Rock Sole, and Yellowfin Sole Targets ............................................................ 17 4.1.2 Seasonal and Temporal Patterns of Flatfish Fishing ................................................................ 18 4.1.3 Catch Composition of Flatfish Fisheries ................................................................................... 19 4.1.4 Dependency on Flatfish ............................................................................................................ 22 4.1.5 Products and Markets .............................................................................................................. 22 4.2 CDQ Sector ............................................................................................................................. 23 4.2.1 Prosecution of flatfish fisheries ................................................................................................. 24 4.3 BSAI trawl limited access sector ............................................................................................. 25 5 Potential Effects of the Alternatives ............................................................................. 26 5.1 Alternative 1 ............................................................................................................................. 26 5.2 Alternatives 2 and 3 ................................................................................................................. 29 5.3 Option 1 ................................................................................................................................... 33 5.4 Options 2 and 3 ....................................................................................................................... 34 5.5 Potential Net Benefits to the Nation ........................................................................................ 35 6 Magnuson-Stevens Act Considerations ....................................................................... 35 6.1 National Standards .................................................................................................................. 35 6.2 Section 303(a)(9) – Fisheries Impact Statement ..................................................................... 37 7 Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis ........................................................................... 37 7.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 37 7.2 IRFA Requirements ................................................................................................................. 38 7.3 Definition of a Small Entity ....................................................................................................... 38 7.4 Reason for Considering the Proposed Action ......................................................................... 40 7.5 Objectives of Proposed Action and its Legal Basis ................................................................. 40 7.6 Number and Description of Directly Regulated Small Entities ................................................ 40 7.7 Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements ......................................................................... 40 7.8 Federal Rules that may Duplicate, Overlap, or Conflict with Proposed Action ....................... 40 7.9 Impacts of the Action on Small Entities ................................................................................... 41 BS Flatfish Harvest Specifications Flexibility Public Review Draft, March 2013 i ITEM C-2(a) APRIL 2013 7.10 Description of Significant Alternatives to the Proposed Action that Minimize Economic Impacts on Small Entities ........................................................................................................ 41 8 List of Preparers and Persons Consulted .................................................................... 41 9 References ...................................................................................................................... 41 List of Tables Table 1 Proposed process for calculating the ABC reserves for flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole, for Amendment 80 cooperatives and CDQ groups, illustrated with 2013 values (mt). ............................ 10 Table 2 Fictional illustration of proposed approach, for an Amendment 80 cooperative ...................................... 10 Table 3 Illustration of CDQ Program quota categories, target CDQ reserves, allocation percentages, and group quotas, using 2013 values ............................................................................................................ 12 Table 4 Proposed approach for calculating the ABC reserves with a Council buffer, under Alternative 3, illustrated with 2013 values (mt). ............................................................................................................ 13 Table 5 Total and retained groundfish catch in the Amendment 80 sector, 2003 to 2012. .................................. 16 Table 6 ABC, TAC, and total catch, by sector, of BSAI flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole, 2008 through 2013. ......................................................................................................................................... 18 Table 7 Catch composition in the yellowfin sole target fishery, for combined years 2008 through 2012. ............ 20 Table 8 Rock sole as a proportion of total groundfish in the yellowfin sole target fishery, by month, 2008 through 2012. ......................................................................................................................................... 20 Table 9 Catch of Pacific cod and halibut and red king crab prohibited species catch (PSC), 2008 through 2012, for the Amendment 80 sector.......................................................................................................