-Bycatch Reduction Agreements- Integrating Electronic Data with Fishing Practices in the Bering Sea Pollock Fishery

1. -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

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

3. 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%

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. Pollock Fishery Salmon Bycatch Reduction • Industry initiated bycatch reduction programs via Intercooperative Agreements – ICAs

8. Pollock Fishery Salmon Bycatch Reduction • Industry initiated bycatch reduction programs via Intercooperative Agreements – ICAs • First ICA was in 2001 for Chum salmon

9. Pollock Fishery Salmon Bycatch Reduction • Industry initiated bycatch reduction programs via Intercooperative Agreements – ICAs • First ICA was in 2001 for Chum salmon • Included Chinook and chum beginning in 2002

10. Pollock Fishery Salmon Bycatch Reduction • Industry initiated bycatch reduction programs via Intercooperative Agreements – ICAs • First ICA was in 2001 for Chum salmon • Included Chinook and chum beginning in 2002 • Designed to reduce bycatch, therefore reducing the likelihood of reaching regulatory triggers

11. Pollock Fishery Salmon Bycatch Reduction • Industry initiated bycatch reduction programs via Intercooperative Agreements – ICAs • First ICA was in 2001 for Chum salmon • Included Chinook and chum beginning in 2002 • Designed to reduce bycatch, therefore reducing the likelihood of reaching regulatory triggers • Voluntary to join, but all sectors have always participated

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. Rolling Hot Spot Closures

17. Utilizing Rolling Hot Spot Closures • May be used to supplement a Fixed Closure

18. Utilizing Rolling Hot Spot Closures • Or to reduce bycatch in areas away from Fixed Closures.

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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. Amendment 912011 Chinook Salmon BycatchReduction 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 SSIP Review

24. Sector Hard Cap Limits • HARD CAP AVAILABLE IN ONLY 2 OF 7 YEARS • EXCEEDING THE PERFORMANCE STANDARD – NOT REACHING THE HARD CAP - COUNTS AS ONE OF THE 2 YEARS

25. Sector Performance Standard Allocations • THE BYCATCH LIMIT TYPICALLY IN PLAY • ALLOCATIONS MADE SEASONALLY • ALLOCATIONS MADE TO THE VESSEL LEVEL

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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

29. 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

30. SSIPSALMON SAVINGS INCENTIVE PLAN Inshore and Mothership Sectors IPAs found at: http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/sustainablefisheries/bycatch/default.htm

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

32. 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

33. 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

34. 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

35. SSIP Description – Inshore Sector • Salmon Savings Credits • When a vessel’s annual bycatch falls below its Base Cap it earns Salmon Savings Credits.

36. SSIP Description – Inshore Sector • 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.

37. SSIP Description – Inshore Sector • 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. • Credits are saved in a Salmon Savings Credit Account. Unused credits expire after 5 years.

38. SSIP Description – Inshore Sector • 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. • 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

39. SSIP Description – Inshore Sector • 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. • 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.

40. SSIP Description – Inshore Sector • 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

41. SSIP Description – Inshore Sector • 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

42. SSIP Description – Inshore Sector • 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

43. SSIP Description – Inshore Sector • 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

44. SSIP Description – Inshore Sector • AND a rolling hot spot program How do the Inshore SSIP Agreement participants assure that they are in compliance to the SSIP rules?

45. SSIP Description – Inshore Sector • 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