Amendment 106 to the FMP for the Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area

NOAA Fisheries adopts a final rule to implement Amendment 106 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area. Amendment 106 is necessary to bring the BSAI FMP into conformity with the amendments to the American Fisheries Act in the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010.

This rule allows the owner of an AFA vessel to rebuild or replace an AFA vessel without any limitation on the length, weight, or horsepower of the rebuilt or replacement vessel when the rebuilt or replacement vessel is operating in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area. This rule also allows the owner of an AFA catcher vessel in an inshore cooperative to remove the vessel from the cooperative and assign the Bering Sea pollock catch history of the removed vessel to one or more vessels in the cooperative. This action is also intended to improve vessel safety and operational efficiency in the AFA fleet by allowing the rebuilding or replacement of AFA vessels with safer and more efficient vessels and by allowing the removal of inactive catcher vessels from the AFA fishery. This action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the AFA, the BSAI FMP, and other applicable laws.