john gruver united catcher boats west coast efis workshop may 3, 2011

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-Bycatch Reduction Agreements-Integrating Electronic Data with

Fishing Practices in the Bering Sea Pollock Fishery

John Gruver

United Catcher Boats

West Coast eFIS Workshop

May 3, 2011

Bering Sea Pollock Fishery

• The American Fisheries Act (AFA) passed by Congress in 1998, rationalized the Bering Sea pollock fishery

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Bering Sea Pollock Fishery

• The American Fisheries Act (AFA) passed by Congress in 1998, rationalized the Bering Sea pollock fishery

• The AFA divided the fishery into 4 sectors, each with its own pollock allocation- Community Development Quota (CDQ) Groups –

10% off the top

- Catcher Processor – 40%- Mothership – 10%- Inshore Catcher Vessel – 50%

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Bering Sea Pollock Fishery Sectors

• 4 Sectors with multiple groups or coops– 6 CDQ Groups– 2 Catcher Processor Sector Coops– 1 Mothership Sector Catcher Vessel Coop; 3

Motherships– 6 Inshore Catcher Vessel Sector Coops

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Bering Sea Pollock Fishery Sectors

• 4 Sectors with multiple groups or coops– 6 Community Development Quota Groups– 2 Catcher Processor Sector Coops– 1 Mothership Sector Catcher Vessel Coop; 3

Motherships– 6 Inshore Catcher Vessel Sector Coops

• Coop vessel pollock allocations determined by private contracts specific to each coop

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Pollock Fishery Salmon Bycatch Regulations

• Salmon Prohibited Species Catch (PSC) Regulations– Chinook Salmon

• Until 2011 Chinook bycatch regulations used triggered closure areas to reduce Chinook bycatch

• Beginning in 2011 Chinook bycatch is limited by a hard cap allocated between the 4 sectors

– Non-Chinook Salmon (a.k.a. Chum salmon regulations)• Combination of time & area closures and triggered closures• Currently being reviewed by the NPFMC for possible new

regulations

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Pollock Fishery Salmon Bycatch Reduction

• Industry initiated bycatch reduction programs via Intercooperative Agreements – ICAs

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• First ICA was in 2001 for Chum salmon

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• First ICA was in 2001 for Chum salmon• Included Chinook and chum beginning in

2002

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2002• Designed to reduce bycatch, therefore

reducing the likelihood of reaching regulatory triggers

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2002• Designed to reduce bycatch, therefore

reducing the likelihood of reaching regulatory triggers

• Voluntary to join, but all sectors have always participated

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Bering Sea Pollock Fishery Bycatch ICAs – Data Requirements

• The Agreements require vessels to release electronic data to the Agreement Monitor– NMFS catch data – observed data and fish tickets– Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) data• Required participants to use only ICA Monitor accepted

systems• Required participants to maintain data link to Monitor

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Bering Sea Pollock Fishery Bycatch ICAs

• Fixed Closure format– A predetermined area with predictably high

bycatch from one year to the next– Simplest bycatch reduction ICA– Requires multiple years of bycatch data to initially

determine the fixed closure area– Doesn’t require in-season management, only in-

season enforcement monitoring by VMS– Occasional test fishing of the area is a good idea if

possible

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Chinook Conservation Area- Fixed Closure ICA -

• An area known to have consistently high Chinook bycatch in the A Season, with little dependence on pollock production

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Bering Sea Pollock Fishery Bycatch ICAs

• Rolling Hot Spot (RHS)format– A series of temporarily closed areas– Closure areas determined as the highest bycatch

areas in excess of the average fleet bycatch rate– Closures applied to vessels with the highest

bycatch rates– Closure areas enforced for compliance – violators

fined for fishing in areas closed to them

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Rolling Hot Spot Closures

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Utilizing Rolling Hot Spot Closures

• May be used to supplement a Fixed Closure

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Utilizing Rolling Hot Spot Closures

• Or to reduce bycatch in areas away from Fixed Closures.

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Bycatch data is supplied to the fleet twice weekly by Sea State

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Pollock Fishery Salmon Bycatch Regulations – Amendment 84

Beginning in 2007 an exemption to current salmon regulations was provided to coops and CDQ groups that participate in a NMFS accepted bycatch reduction ICA– Originally the A-84 exemption applied to both the

Chinook and chum salmon regulations– A-84 Regulations required specific elements that must

be found in an ICA for it to be accepted by NMFS– Once the Chinook hard cap regulations came into

place in 2011 the exemption applied only to chum salmon regulations

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Pollock Fishery Salmon Bycatch Regulations – Amendment 84

• Required a higher level of monitoring and compliance – Industry took over the role of NMFS Enforcement

and the Coast Guard– Included an annual report by Industry that

addressed specific regulatory requirements– A Compliance Audit conducted by a third party is

required

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Bycatch Intercooperative Agreements

- Transitioning from an ICA to an IPA -

• New regulations for Chinook salmon came into place in 2011 – Amendment 91

• A Hard Cap was initiated for Chinook salmon bycatch in the pollock fishery

• Introduced the concept of allowing vessels access to a higher hard cap provided they demonstrated Chinook avoidance at all levels of encounter

Amendment 912011 Chinook Salmon Bycatch

Reduction Regulations• Three Options

1. 60,000 Hard Cap with IPA - Incentive Plan Agreement

2. 47,591 Hard Cap with no IPA

3. 28,496 Opt Out Pool – For Vessels Choosing Not to Participate in an

Existing IPA

23SSIP Review

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Sector Hard Cap Limits1. HARD CAP AVAILABLE IN ONLY 2 OF 7 YEARS

2. EXCEEDING THE PERFORMANCE STANDARD – NOT REACHING THE HARD CAP - COUNTS AS ONE OF THE 2 YEARS

Performance Standard - 47,591

IPA Hard Cap - 60,000

All Sectors 47,591 60,000

Inshore 26,484 33,390

Mothership 3,707 4,674

C/P 13,516 17,040

CDQ 3,883 4,896

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Sector Performance Standard Allocations

1. THE BYCATCH LIMIT TYPICALLY IN PLAY2. ALLOCATIONS MADE SEASONALLY 3. ALLOCATIONS MADE TO THE VESSEL LEVEL

Performance Standard - 47,591

IPA Hard Cap - 60,000

All Sectors 47,591 60,000

Inshore 26,484 33,390

Mothership 3,707 4,674

C/P 13,516 17,040

CDQ 3,883 4,896

IPA Requirements

• Provide incentives at the individual vessel level

• Incentivize vessels to avoid Chinook bycatch at all levels of abundance in all years

• Reward vessels that successfully avoid Chinook and/or penalize vessels that fail to avoid Chinook

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IPA Requirements

• Incentives must influence fishing decisions at levels below the hard cap

• Hold Bycatch to a performance standard of 47,591 in most years

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IPA Requirements

• The Incentive Plan Agreement must describe how each vessel will manage their bycatch to keep total bycatch below the sector level regulatory performance standard– The Agreement must contain rules to prevent the

sum of vessel bycatch within a sector from exceeding that sector’s portion of 47,591 in any 3 years within a consecutive 7 year period

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IPA Requirements

• Incentives must influence fishing decisions at levels below the hard cap

• Hold Bycatch to a performance standard of 47,591 in most years

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SSIPSALMON SAVINGS INCENTIVE PLANInshore and Mothership Sectors

IPAs found at: http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/sustainablefisheries/bycatch/default.htm

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http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/sustainablefisheries/bycatch/default.htm

SSIP Description

• Each vessel receives a Base Cap Allocation – its share of 47,591 – the Performance Standard

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SSIP Description


• Base Cap Allocations are made pro rata to a vessel’s pollock allocation

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SSIP Description


• Base Cap Allocations are made pro rata to a vessel’s pollock allocation

• By way of example, in the Mothership sector individual vessel Base Cap allocations range from 84 to 359 Chinook

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SSIP Description• Each vessel receives a Base Cap Allocation –

its share of 47,591 – the Performance Standard• Base Cap Allocations are made pro rata to a

vessel’s pollock allocation• By way of example, in the Mothership sector

individual vessel Base Cap allocations range from 84 to 359 Chinook

• Vessels may not exceed their Base Cap unless they earn Salmon Savings Credits or receive a transfer of Base Cap from another vessel

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SSIP Description – Inshore Sector

• Salmon Savings Credits–When a vessel’s annual bycatch falls below

its Base Cap it earns Salmon Savings Credits.

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• Salmon Savings Credits– When a vessel’s annual bycatch falls below its Base Cap it earns

Salmon Savings Credits.

–One credit is earned for every 3 salmon avoided below their Base Cap.

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Salmon Savings Credits.– One credit is earned for every 3 salmon avoided below their Base Cap.

–Credits are saved in a Salmon Savings Credit Account. Unused credits expire after 5 years.

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Salmon Savings Credits.– One credit is earned for every 3 salmon avoided below their Base Cap.– Credits are saved in a Salmon Savings Credit Account. Unused credits

expire after 5 years.

–Vessels may not exceed their share of the 60,000 Hard Cap in any given year even if the have Salmon Savings Credits to do so

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Salmon Savings Credits.– One credit is earned for every 3 salmon avoided below their Base Cap.– Credits are saved in a Salmon Savings Credit Account. Unused credits

expire after 5 years.– Vessels may not exceed their share of the 60,000 Hard Cap in any

given year even if the have Salmon Savings Credits to do so.

–Savings may not be transferred. They may only be used by the vessel that earned them.

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• More complex than an RHS ICA• Requires a separate account for each vessel to

monitor both pollock and Chinook• Becomes difficult to manage because:– Some vessels are harvesting their allocation and

part or all of another vessel’s allocation– Some vessels are only partially harvesting their

allocation– Some vessels are not harvesting any pollock at all

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• In order to accommodate the varying fishing practices a series of transfer rules were required– Blended Paired Transfer– Trip Specific Paired Transfer– Pollock Only Transfer–Mop-up Transfer– Hardship Transfer

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• Insurance Pool was included to prevent overages– All vessels contributed Chinook pro rata to a 1000

Chinook Insurance Pool– All inshore sector vessels participate in a single

pool– IPA includes sue provisions for accessing

Insurance Pool– IPA Included penalties for using Insurance

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• Considering all the complexities for the Inshore Sector SSIP:– 98 vessels in 6 cooperatives; each coop with its

own internal management system– Regulatory hard cap allocations at the coop level– SSIP allocations at the vessel level– A SSIP Insurance Pool at the sector level– A regulatory Performance Standard at the sector

level

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• AND a rolling hot spot program

How do the Inshore SSIP Agreement participants assure that they are in compliance to the SSIP rules?

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• Answer – A secure web-accessed data base that provides a consistent level of management by all inshore coops.– Allows each coop’s manager to easily operate

within the SSIP rules– Assures each coop that all coops are operating

within the SSIP rules– Provides up-to-date individual vessel, coop, and

sector information

john gruver united catcher boats west coast efis workshop may 3, 2011

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