Finding of No Significant Impact for Amendment 88 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska
October 24, 2011
Amendment 88 would implement the Central Gulf of Alaska Rockfish Program. This action is necessary to replace Central Gulf of Alaska (GOA) Rockfish Pilot Program regulations that are scheduled to expire at the end of 2011.
The Rockfish Program would provide exclusive harvesting and processing privileges for a specific set of rockfish species and associated species harvested incidentally to those rockfish in the Central GOA. The Rockfish Program would retain the conservation, management, safety, and economic gains realized under the Rockfish Pilot Program. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) developed the Rockfish Program to meet the requirements for limited access privileges in section 303A of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The proposed Rockfish Program would be authorized for 10 years, from January 1, 2012, until December 31, 2021.