Multispecies (Groundfish) Amendment 13 Background

Mortality alternatives Capacity reduction alternatives including leasing Reference point proposals Rebuilding strategies Future actions Overview

Timetable July 15-17, Portland, ME - approve DSEIS August/September - public hearings October - review comments November 4-6, Peabody, MA - select alternative and approve Amendment 13 for submission May Implementation

Groundfish Spawning Stock Biomass (SSB)

Rebuilding New rebuilding targets are substantially higher than current reference points Options for rebuilding periods: –2009 for most stocks –2014 for most stocks –Exceptions are GB cod, CC/GOM yellowtail, redfish

Fishing Mortality Reductions for Rebuilding

Fishing Mortality Reduction Alternatives 1.Up to 65% reduction in used DAS 2.Reduction in allocated DAS ( FW 33 baseline reduced by 20%), other gear changes, current area closures, hard TAC backstop 3.Area management using hard TACs 4.Hard TACs, with fishing year 2001 measures (from court order)

(Number of Vessels) Data Source: NMFS Permit and Dealer Databases (not call-in system) Number of Active Permitted Multispecies Vessels

RECENT DAS LEVELS

Recent Landings & Revenues (million pounds / dollars)

Projected Groundfish Revenues Rebuilding

Capacity Reduction Alternatives Permit Transfer Permit Absorption DAS Transfer Freeze on unused DAS

Permit Transfer Proposal Vessel transferring permit can transfer groundfish permit to a different vessel than the other permits Vessel transferring permit exits all fisheries Cannot combine DAS from more than one permit on one vessel DAS acquired are “taxed”, limits on reactivation

Permit Absorption Proposal Vessel can obtain permits from another vessel with no restriction on holding both a scallop and groundfish permit Duplicate permits expire Cannot combine DAS allocations on one vessel One vessel exits fishery Various levels of “tax” on DAS transfer

DAS Transfer Proposal Limited access groundfish vessels allowed to transfer DAS Only vessels with a history of fishing can transfer DAS “Tax” on transfer of active DAS and inactive DAS Upgrading/replacement conditions apply

“Effective” DAS “Effective” DAS are defined for each permit –Nine options for defining “effective” DAS with different baselines with & without minimum landings requirements. Baseline options include the maximum DAS used in or in or limited by 2001 allocations, the court order allocation, etc. “Effective” DAS are divided into two categories: –Class A: DAS that can be used at implementation of Amendment 13 –Class B: DAS that cannot be used in order to meet needed mortality reductions –DAS that do not meet definition of “effective” are called Class C DAS

Freeze on Unused DAS Permit holders agree not to reactivate effort for a predetermined amount of time –Example 1: Five year freeze –Example 2: 75% of BMSY is reached 5% annual reduction of unused DAS on vessels that don’t participate in freeze

DAS Leasing Options Options include restricting leasing to vessels of similar size or allowing leasing by vessels of different sizes, allowing / prohibiting sub-leasing, limits on the number of DAS that can be leased

Summary Rebuilding will require measures that are the equivalent to reducing DAS from 41,000 (2002 levels) to 28,000 DAS for 10 years. Excess capacity exists in the groundfish fishery & an industry buyback is an option for reducing capacity. A capacity reduction business plan should describe the make-up of the fleet in the future.