Halibut and red king crab bycatch rate standards for the Alaska groundfish trawl fisheries included under the vessel incentive program are established for the first half of 2002, according to James W. Balsiger, Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Region.
These standards are specified for the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI) and Gulf of Alaska (GOA) trawl fisheries during the first half of 2002 as follows:
| Fishery | Bycatch rate standards for the first half of 2002 |
| Halibut bycatch rate standards (kilograms of halibut/metric ton of groundfish catch) | |
| BSAI Midwater pollock | 1.0 |
| BSAI Bottom pollock | 5.0 |
| BSAI Yellowfin sole | 5.0 |
| BSAI Other trawl | 30.0 |
| GOA Midwater pollock | 1.0 |
| GOA Other trawl | 40.0 |
| Zone 1 red king crab bycatch rate standards (number of crab/metric ton of groundfish) | |
| BSAI yellowfin sole | 2.5 |
| BSAI Other trawl | 2.5 |
A vessel's observed bycatch rate for a fishing month that is above the applicable bycatch rate standard constitutes a violation of the regulations implementing the vessel incentive program. The 2002 fishing months are specified as the following periods for purposes of calculating vessel bycatch rates:
Month 1: January 1 through February 2;
Month 2: February 3 through March 2;
Month 3: March 3 through March 30;
Month 4: March 31 through April 27;
Month 5: April 28 through June 1;
Month 6: June 2 through June 29;
Month 7: June 30 through August 3;
Month 8: August 4 through August 31;
Month 9: September 1 through September 28;
Month 10: September 29 through November 2;
Month 11: November 3 through November 30; and
Month 12: December 1 through December 31.
Comments on the bycatch rate standards implemented for the first and second quarters of 2002 will be accepted through February 7, 2002. This information bulletin only provides notice of a regulatory change. For the purposes of complying with the regulatory change, you are advised to see the actual text in the Code of Federal Regulations.
