Comments close: Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Amendment 128 to the FMP for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area and Amendment 116 to the FMP for

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has announced the availability of Amendment 128 to the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) Fishery Management Plan and Amendment 116 to the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) Fishery Management Plan. These amendments, recommended by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council in April 2025, aim to provide operational flexibility to the fixed gear sablefish fleet by allowing the release of small, lower-value sablefish. Current regulations generally prohibit the discarding of sablefish in these fisheries. To manage this change, the amendments propose establishing a Sablefish Discard Allowance (SDA) for both the BSAI and GOA regions. This allowance will be deducted from the total allowable catch (TAC) before individual quotas are derived, serving as a buffer to prevent overfishing. The discard mortality rate (DMR), determined by the Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee, will be used to calculate the cumulative mortality against the SDA. In addition to the discard provisions, the amendments include technical housekeeping updates to align FMP language with federal regulations. This includes replacing the term "Freezer Longliner" with "Catcher/processor" and clarifying the use of "category A quota shares." NMFS is accepting public comments on these proposed amendments through January 5, 2027.