NOAA Fisheries is issuing a final rule to implement Amendment 123 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area. The final rule establishes abundance-based management of Amendment 80, which sets a catch limit for Pacific halibut.
Within the amendment, it targets pacifically Pacific cod, Pacific Ocean Perch, Atka Mackerel, and rock, yellowfin, and flathead sole.
This action was recommended by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council at its December 2021 meeting. It minimizes halibut prohibited species catch to the extent practicable without compromising the ability to attain optimum yield in these fisheries.
Pacific halibut is fully allocated in Alaska as a target species in subsistence, personal use, recreational, and commercial halibut fisheries. It’s also incidentally taken as bycatch in groundfish fisheries.
The Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Fishery Management Plan had previously set the annual halibut mortality prohibited species catch limit for the Amendment at 1,745 metric tons.
Amendment 123 will link with Amendment 80, which limits the number of halibut caught.
It establishes a process for annually setting the halibut prohibited species catch limit for the Amendment 80 sector based on the most recent halibut abundance indices.
The final rule is effective on January 1, 2024, and the limits established by this action will apply to fishing by the Amendment 80 sector in 2024.
