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INFORMATION BULLETIN 02-95
Sustainable Fisheries Division
907-586-7228 		December 18, 2002
10:15 a.m.


NOTICE OF BYCATCH RATE STANDARDS FOR THE FIRST HALF OF 2003 FOR PURPOSES OF THE VESSEL INCENTIVE PROGRAM

Halibut and red king crab bycatch rate standards for the Alaska groundfish trawl fisheries included under the vessel incentive program are established for the first half of 2003, according to James W. Balsiger, Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Region.

These standards are specified for the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI) and Gulf of Alaska (GOA) trawl fisheries during the first half of 2003 as follows:

Fishery 2003 Bycatch Rate Standard
  Halibut bycatch rate standards(kilograms of halibut/metric ton of groundfish catch)
  BSAI Midwater pollock
QT 1 1.0
QT 2 1.0
  BSAI Bottom pollock
QT 1 5.0
QT 2 5.0
  BSAI Yellowfin sole
QT 1 5.0
QT 2 5.0
  BSAI Other trawl
QT 1 30.0
QT 2 30.0
  GOA Midwater pollock
QT 1 1.0
QT 2 1.0
  GOA Other trawl
QT 1 40.0
QT 2 40.0
  Zone 1 red king crab bycatch rate standards (number of crab/metric ton of groundfish)
  BSAI yellowfin sole
QT 1 2.5
QT 2 2.5
  BSAI Other trawl
QT 1 2.5
QT 2 2.5


A vessel's observed bycatch rate for a fishing month that is above the applicable bycatch rate standard constitutes a violation of the regulations implementing the vessel incentive program. The 2003 fishing months are specified as the following periods for purposes of calculating vessel bycatch rates:

Month 1: January 1 through February 1;
Month 2: February 2 through March 1;
Month 3: March 2 through March 29;
Month 4: March 30 through May 3;
Month 5: May 4 through May 31;
Month 6: June 1 through June 28;
Month 7: June 29 through August 2;
Month 8: August 3 through August 30;
Month 9: August 31 through September 27;
Month 10: September 28 through November 1;
Month 11: November 2 through November 29; and
Month 12: November 30 through December 31.

Comments on the bycatch rate standards implemented for the first and second quarters of 2003 will be accepted through January 2, 2003. This information bulletin only provides notice of a regulatory change. For the purposes of complying with the regulatory change, you are advised to see the actual text in the Code of Federal Regulations.







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