IB 03-20: Final 2003 Harvest Specifications Established For Groundfish Fisheries Off Alaska

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) establishes the final 2003 harvest specifications for groundfish fisheries off Alaska. The final 2003 harvest specifications supersede the interim 2003 harvest specifications which became effective on January 1, 2003. The Federal Register notices for the final 2003 harvest specifications, for the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI) and for the Gulf of Alaska were effective on filing for public inspection with the Office of the Federal Register as of February 25, 2003, and will be published on March 3, 2003. Until the notices are published, draft versions of the notices are available on the NMFS, Alaska Region's 2003 Harvest Specification website.

The final specifications specify the annual total allowable catch for each target species and the "other species" category and apportionments thereof and halibut prohibited species catch amounts. Also established for the BSAI are the community development quota reserve amounts, prohibited species catch allowances and prohibited species quota reserve amounts.

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 or text in the Federal Register notice for harvest specifications. Federal Register notices and regulations may be viewed at the Alaska Region website.