Proposed Amendment to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska and Federal Regulations Implementing the Sablefish and Pacific Halibut Fisheries Off Alaska to Allow the Use of Pot Longline Gear in the Gulf of Alaska Sablefish Individual Fishing Quota Fishery

Amendment 101. The proposed rule would allow fishermen to use longline pot gear in addition to hook-and-line gear to harvest sablefish in the individual fishing quota (IFQ) fishery in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). Sablefish caught on hook-and-line gear are eaten or damaged (depredation) by sperm and killer. Sablefish mortality from whale depredation is difficult to measure, but increases the fishing costs and the uncertainty in sablefish abundance indices. Research into whale deterrence strategies and changes in fishing practices has not resolved the problem. The use of longline pot gear to harvest sablefish could reduce whale and seabird interactions with fishing gear, reduce sablefish mortality from whale depredation, and increase efficiency of the IFQ fishery. The proposed rule would implement management measures intended to provide equitable fishing opportunities for sablefish IFQ fishermen using either gear type. The proposed rule would allow retention of Pacific halibut caught incidentally in longline pot gear if the fisherman holds sufficient halibut IFQ and the International Pacific Halibut Commission implements complementary regulations. No effects are expected on the physical environment, habitat, groundfish (other than sablefish), ecosystem component species (other than halibut), and ecosystem components of the environment because harvest limits and habitat protections would not be changed by the proposed rule. The potentially affected resource components are: sablefish, halibut, marine mammals (specifically sperm and killer whales), seabirds, and socioeconomics.