Final Regulatory Impact Review/Environmental Assessment Review for Amendment 122 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area

NMFS issues this final rule to implement Amendment 122 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI). Amendment 122 establishes the Pacific Cod Trawl Cooperative Program (PCTC Program or Program), a limited access privilege program (LAPP) to harvest Pacific cod in the BSAI trawl catcher vessel (CV) sector. The PCTC Program allocates Pacific cod harvest quota to qualifying groundfish License Limitation Program (LLP) license holders and qualifying processors and requires participants to form cooperatives to harvest the quota. This action is necessary to increase the value of the fishery, minimize bycatch to the extent practicable, provide for the sustained participation of fishery-dependent communities, ensure the sustainability and viability of the resource, and promote safety and stability in the harvesting and processing sectors. There are no known issues or problems with this project.