Final Action on Crab Economic Data Reports

Final action on Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands crab economic data reports revisions is scheduled this week during the North Pacific Fishery Management Council’s meeting at the Renaissance Hotel in Seattle. In advance of the meeting, council staff prepared a regulatory impact review and initial regulatory flexibility analysis, which is online at www.fakr.noaa.gov/npfmc/PDFdocuments/catch_shares/Crab/CrabEDR212.pdf

Staff note in their report that, as part of the crab rationalization program which went into effect in 2005, the council developed an economic data collection program to provide information to analysts to assess effects of the program and future amendments to the program.

The nine crab fisheries managed under the rationalization program include Bristol Bay red king crab, Bering sea Chionocetes opilio, Eastern Bering Sea bairdi, Western Bering Sea bairdi, Pribilof red and blue king crab, St. Matthew island blue king crab, Western Aleutian Islands red king crab, Eastern Aleutian islands golden king crab, and Western Aleutian Islands golden king crab.

Based on reviews of the data, it has been established that certain data elements collected are not accurately or consistently reported across respondents, preventing their use for some intended purposes, and other elements are wholly or partially redundant with other data collection, staff said. The council therefore initiated action to review data collection.

The review and analysis discusses several alternatives, including status quo, for catcher vessels, shore plant and floating processors and catcher processors.