Environmental Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review/Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis for Amendment 80 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area

Amendment 80 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands would provide specific groundfish allocations to H&G trawl CP sector and allow the formation of cooperatives. Sector allocations and associated cooperatives would allow participants to focus less on harvest rate maximization and more on optimizing their harvest. This, in turn, could allow a reduction in unwanted incidental catch, improve retention, and improve utilization. It could also improve the economic health of the H&G trawl CP sector. Each of these outcomes addresses a specific element of the Amendment 80 problem statement.

Four alternatives are considered to compare the impacts of the proposed program components. Alternative 1 is the requisite No Action (i.e. status quo) alternative. Alternatives 2 and 4 would allow for the formation of multiple cooperatives, and Alternative 3 provides for a single cooperative.