NOAA Fisheries reminds the fleet to minimize its catch of blackspotted/rougheye rockfish species group in the Aleutian Islands subarea of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area.
At the December 2017 meeting of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, the Council’s Science and Statistical Committee (SSC) addressed concerns about fishing pressure relative to blackspotted/rougheye rockfish biomass estimates in the Western Aleutian Islands. To alleviate concerns of high exploitation of blackspotted/rougheye rockfish in the Western Aleutian Islands the SSC recommended estimation of a maximum subarea species catch (MSSC) amount. For 2018, the MSSC amount to guide the level of catch is 35 metric tons for the Western Aleutian Islands. Information on the calculation of this MSSC amount may be found in the most recent blackspotted /rougheye rockfish stock assessment.
In 2018, if the catch for either of this rockfish species group continues to be a concern the SSC and Council may recommend further management action. NOAA Fisheries provides a catch report with the 2018 BSAI blackspotted/rougheye catch by subarea and corresponding blackspotted/rougheye rockfish MSSC amounts for the public’s information.
The goal of this information bulletin is to improve public understanding on issues associated with fishing effort to mitigate the need for further management actions.
