EA/RIR/IRFA for Amendment 79 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area - Minimum Groundfish Retention Standard (IR/IU Trailing Amendment C)

This EA/RIR/IRFA analysis is of proposed Amendment 79 to the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI) Groundfish Fishery Management Plan, which would implement groundfish retention standards (GRS) for head and gut trawl catcher processors operating in the BSAI that are not listed American Fisheries Act (AFA) catcher/processors. These unlisted catcher processing vessels, are referred to as (HT-CPs) in this analysis. Only HT-CP vessels 125 ft. and greater are harvesting groundfish in the BSAI. In 2004, there were 16 active HT-CP 125' ft. and greater, LOA.