Alaska Groundfish Harvest Specifications Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

This Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis evaluates the impacts of alternative harvest strategies for the fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone off of Alaska on small entities. This action does not modify recordkeeping or reporting requirements. The directly regulated small entities include approximately 747 small catcher vessels, less than 17 small catcher-processors, and six Community Development Quota Groups.

The action under consideration is the adoption of a harvest strategy to govern the harvest of groundfish in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska Management Areas.  The preferred alternative is the status quo harvest strategy in which total allowable catches fall within the range of acceptable biological catches recommended by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council’s Groundfish Plan Teams and TACs recommended by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.