Regulatory Impact Review for Amendment 102 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Establishing a Community Quota Entity Program in Area 4B
January 15, 2014
This action creates a Community Quota Entity (CQE) Program in halibut IFQ regulatory area 4B (Area 4B) and the sablefish Aleutian Islands regulatory area that is similar to the existing CQE Program in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA).
This action allows an eligible community in Area 4B and in the Aleutian Islands to establish a non-profit organization as a Community Quota Entity (CQE) to purchase halibut catcher vessel quota share (QS) assigned to Area 4B and sablefish QS assigned to the Aleutian Islands. The CQE would assign the annual halibut and sablefish IFQ derived from the QS to participants according to defined CQE Program elements.