Supplemental for the Environmental Assessment For Restructuring the Program for Observer Procurement and Deployment in the North Pacific

In 2013, NMFS restructured the North Pacific Observer Program to implement a scientific method to deploy observers on more vessels in the Federal fisheries and a fee system to pay for observers deployed on vessels with partial coverage. In partnership with the Council, NMFS prepared the Environmental Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review/Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis for Proposed Amendment 86 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands Management Area and Amendment 76 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska Restructuring the Program for Observer Procurement and Deployment in the North Pacific and a Finding of No Significant Impact. NMFS was subsequently sued on the restructured Observer Program. In August 2014, the court ordered NMFS to prepare a supplemental environmental assessment that analyzes when observer data ceases to be reliable, or of high quality, because the rate of observer coverage is too low. The court order centered on the theme that NMFS did not consider whether the restructured Observer Program would yield reliable, high quality data given likely variations in costs and revenues. The court found that the 2011 EA was inadequate because it failed to address the risk to data quality that may result from increased observer costs and decreased observer coverage. This supplemental environmental assessment directly responds to this court order.