Biological Opinion on Alaska Groundfish Fisheries and an Exempted Fishing Permit to Test a Salmon Excluder Device in the Bering Sea Pollock Fishery
December 02, 2014
Biological opinion on the effects of issuing exempted fishing permits to test salmon excluder devices in the Bering Strait/Aleutian Islands pelagic trawl fisheries.
The NOAA Fisheries Alaska Regional Office Sustainable Fisheries Division (SFD) proposes to continue authorizing the federal groundfish fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area. The proposed action also includes the State of Alaska parallel groundfish fisheries because these fisheries are intricately connected with the Federal groundfish fisheries off Alaska. SFD also proposes to issue exempted fishing permits from time to time for the purpose of testing salmon excluder devices in the eastern Bering Sea pollock fishery. The consulting agency for this proposal is Alaska Regional Office Protected Resources Division. This document represents NOAA Fisheries' final biological opinion on the effects of this proposal on the threatened Arctic subspecies of the ringed seal and the Beringia DPS of the bearded seal in accordance with section 7(b) of the ESA and implementing regulations at 50 CFR 402.
Action Agency: NOAA Fisheries Alaska Region Sustainable Fisheries Division
NMFS Consultation Number: AKR-2014-9400