Draft Environmental Assessment: Consideration of an Exempted Fishing Permit to Fish with Longline Gear in the West Coast Exclusive Economic Zone

The Proposed Action is to issue an exempted fishing permit (EFP) to allow two vessels to fish with longline gear in the United States EEZ, which is currently prohibited. The impacts to the human environment (e.g., effects of the proposed action on the natural, social, and economic environment), including protected species, were found to be insignificant.

The Sustainable Fisheries Division and the Pacific Fishery Management Council would like the EFP to be issued in the fall of 2016, following ESA Section 7 consultation and a final NEPA analysis.

The Sustainable Fisheries Division will consult with the Protected Resources Division on potential impacts to marine mammals and sea turtles, and with the Fish and Wildlife Service on potential impacts to sea birds. The NEPA and Section 7 analyses related to this proposed action will undergo review by Office of Coastal Management to determine whether to grant a federal consistency review of the action by the California Coastal Commission. Additionally, there is a faction of environmental non-governmental organizations that have expressed a general opposition to longlining activities occurring off the U.S. West Coast.