Environmental Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review for Proposed Regulatory Amendment to Adjust the Partial Coverage Observer Fee

This Environmental Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review analyzes proposed management measures that would apply exclusively to the Gulf of Alaska (GOA), Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) groundfish and Pacific halibut fisheries. The measures under consideration include adjusting the observer fee that supports deployment of observers and electronic monitoring (EM) in the commercial groundfish and Pacific halibut fisheries that are subject to partial coverage monitoring. This applies throughout the GOA and BSAI. The Council’s Preferred Alternative would raise the fee to 1.65 percent, equally across all fisheries. Under any alternative, the scope of this analysis is limited to changes in the observer fee percentage. The purpose of this action is to improve the ability for the Council and NOAA Fisheries to meet the Council’s monitoring objectives by increasing the available funding for the deployment of observers and EM.