The proposed action would adopt harvest specifications for the Federally managed groundfish fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA), and Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI), management areas. In the GOA and BSAI, groundfish harvests are managed subject to annual limits on the amounts of each species of fish, or of each group of species, that may be taken. The U.S. Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) sets the limits based on the recommendations of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council). The set of annual limits adopted are referred to as “harvest specifications,” and the process of adopting them is referred to as the “specifications process.” The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) manages the groundfish fisheries.

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)