NOAA Fisheries

The western population of Steller sea lions in the Bering Sea (BS), the Aleutian Islands (AI) and the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) has declined by more than 80 percent over the last 30 years and was listed as endangered in 1997 under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Many possible factors have contributed to this decline: early commercial and subsistence harvests; killer whale predation; reduced availability of certain prey-fish brought about by natural climatic changes in the North Pacific ecosystem; and commercial fishing. This Biological Opinion determines that the commercial fisheries for pollock, Pacific cod, and Atka mackerel, as carried out under the fishery management plans for groundfish off Alaska, are likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the western Steller sea lion population and adversely modify its critical habitat. Under the ESA, for fishing to continue, the agency must define a Reasonable and Prudent Alternative (RPA) to current fishing practices. This biological opinion therefore recommends modification of those practices through implementation of an RPA.

Reasonable and Prudent Alternative

The RPA is designed to minimize the adverse effects of removing sea lion prey species and avoid competition. The RPA includes an experimental design to develop scientific information that will facilitate an adaptive management response in the future. Adaptive management will allow us to monitor and assess the effectiveness of sea lion protection measures and make changes as necessary.

The RPA will allow fishing in some limited areas of critical habitat that had been closed under the previous RPA and the current Federal court-ordered injunction. It divides the annual total allowable catch among four fishing seasons for open areas that are inside critical habitat, and among two seasons outside of critical habitat. Specifically, the RPA:

• Closes all critical habitat to fishing between November 1 and January 19 and disperses fishing activity throughout the remaining part of the year evenly among seasons.
• Closes waters adjacent to many sea lion rookeries and haulouts out to 20 nautical miles to fishing activities that target pollock, Pacific cod and Atka mackerel (see attached maps) for all gear types.
• Establishes 139 no-fishing zones for groundfish and maintains 3-mile "no entry" zones around rookeries.
• Reduces the percentage of pollock that may be taken inside sea lions' critical habitat (as compared with 1998) from 80% to 42% in the GOA; from 45% to 14% in the Eastern Bering Sea (EBS); and from 74% to 2% in the AI.
• Reduces the percentage of Pacific cod that may be taken inside critical habitat from 48% to 21% in the GOA; from 39% to 17% in the EBS; and from 79% to 17% in the AI.
• Reduces the percentage of Atka mackerel that may be taken inside critical habitat from 66% to 8% in the AI.

Economic Impact

The estimated annual economic costs of this RPA on the major North Pacific groundfisheries is projected below. The impact of the RPA will vary, based on area and species fished, gear type, and class or size of boat. The estimates do not include indirect impacts and can be affected by changes in fishing behavior and future market prices -- all of which are difficult to estimate.

• $0-$191 million range in direct costs in 2001. The total estimated annual value of this fishery was $1.2 billion in 1999 (after first processing) for all three species.

Timeline for Next Steps

Following the release of this Biological Opinion, the following steps are planned:

• Pending court review of the Biological Opinion, publication of emergency regulations to implement the RPA, establish catch specifications, and open the trawl fishery as close to January 20, 2001 as possible.
• Scientific and public review of the biological opinion, including review by independent scientific experts in 2001.
• Establishment in 2001 of a NOAA Steller sea lion team that would work on many of the agency's Steller-related activities.
• Developing a longterm research and recovery plan for the sea lions.

The full text of the Biological Opinion, including the RPA, is available on the following web site: http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/protectedresources/stellers/plb/default.htm.