Chapter II — Species of Special Concern 



550,000 mt) of the winter or "A" season pollock 

 catch has been taken in critical habitat. Since 1992 

 pollock catches in critical habitat during the "B" 

 season have declined from about 350,000-400,000 mt 

 to about 250,000 mt, or about 30 to 40 percent. 

 Combined, as much as 800,000 mt, or more than 60 

 percent, of the total pollock catch was taken in 1994 

 and 1995 from within Steller sea lion critical habitat. 



In 1992 the Bering Sea/ Aleutian Islands groundfish 

 fishery management plan was amended so that 7.5 

 percent of the total allowable pollock catch was 

 allocated as a Community Development Quota. Of the 

 remainder, 35 percent was allocated to the onshore 

 sector and 65 percent to the offshore sector. Further- 

 more, a catcher vessel operation area was established 

 in 1992 (Figure 7). From 1 September until the end 

 of the year, motherships and catcher-processors acting 

 like motherships were allowed to receive pollock 

 catches from within the catcher vessel operation area 

 provided they themselves did not directly fish for 

 pollock. Motherships are vessels that process fish at 

 sea but do not trawl. Catcher-processors are vessels 

 that process fish at sea, and also are capable of 

 trawling. In 1995 the western boundary of the 

 Catcher Vessel Operation Area was moved 30 minutes 

 longitude west, and the regulations were changed to 

 allow catcher-processors to fish for pollock provided 

 the pollock allocation for the inshore sector had been 

 taken before the end of the season. 



After subtracting the 7.5 percent allocated as a 

 Community Development Quota, the proposed Bering 

 Sea/Aleutian Islands fishery management plan for 

 1999-2002 called for allocating 39 percent of the total 

 allowable pollock catch to the inshore sector and 61 

 percent to the offshore sector. It also called for 

 allocating 2.5 percent of the inshore total allowable 

 catch to catcher vessels under 38.1 m (125 feet) in 

 length on or about 25 August of each year, and 

 prohibiting all vessels harvesting pollock for offshore 

 processing from fishing inside the catcher vessel 

 operation area after 1 September, unless the inshore 

 pollock fishery total allowable catch has been taken. 



The American Fisheries Act of 1998 mandated 

 additional changes to the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands 

 pollock allocations beginning in 1999. Under this 

 Act, the Community Development Quota program is 



to receive 10 percent of the total allowable pollock 

 catch. The remaining 90 percent, after subtracting an 

 allowance for bycatch in other fisheries, would be 

 allocated such that 50 percent goes to the inshore 

 sector, 40 percent to iJie offshore sector, and 10 

 percent to catcher vessels delivering to motherships. 

 These new regulations will result in a 15 percent shift 

 of the total allowable catch from the offshore sector to 

 the inshore sector. 



The 3 December 1998 biological opinion considers 

 the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands region critical to the 

 survival of the western population of Steller sea lions. 

 It states that the proposed Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands 

 pollock fishery would remain concentrated in time and 

 space, thus posing a serious threat to the survival of 

 Steller sea lions. Whereas the fishery was pursued 

 over about 10 months in 1990, in recent years the 

 total allowable catch has been taken within three 

 months. About 45 percent of the total allowable catch 

 is taken during the winter fishery, at a time when 

 Steller sea lions are hypothesized to be most sensitive 

 to decreases in prey. As much as 70 percent of the 

 Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands pollock may be caught 

 within Steller sea lion critical habitat. Because of the 

 seasonal and regional concentration of catches, the 

 biological opinion concluded that the Bering 

 Sea/Aleutian Islands walleye pollock fishery is likely 

 to jeopardize the continued existence of Steller sea 

 lions and adversely modify its critical habitat. The 

 opinion therefore set forth reasonable and prudent 

 alternatives, discussed below. 



Walleye Pollock Fishery under the Gulf of 

 Alaska Groundfish Fishery Management Plan 



The Gulf of Alaska walleye pollock fishery is 

 divided into three management areas covering the area 

 from south of Prince William Sound to west of 

 Unimak Island in the Aleutian Islands to the shelf 

 break. As shown in Figure 7, these include the 

 western Gulf (area 610), the central Gulf (area 620), 

 and the eastern Gulf (area 630). Considerable overlap 

 exists between Steller sea lion habitat and the central 

 and western management areas; hence, these two 

 regions are the areas of most concern. Twelve rooker- 

 ies and 33 haul-out sites have been identified in the 

 Gulf of Alaska fisheries management areas. 



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