NMFS proposes removing economic data reporting requirements for BSAI trawl and crab programs

Trawl catcher/processors fishing Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands non-pollock groundfish, and harvesters and processors working nine BSAI crab species, would no longer face Economic Data Report requirements under amendments proposed by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council and published for public review by the National Marine Fisheries Service on July 17, 2026. NMFS said a separate proposed rule to implement the amendments would follow.

The Council recommended the change on two grounds: the data does not open or close any fishery, and only three of the eight limited access privilege programs in the North Pacific currently collect EDR data, meaning five programs already operate without it. Through public testimony, fishery participants stated that the data generated "limited and nuanced utility in informing management decisions relative to their costs." The Council also cited the goal of reducing cost recovery fees, eliminating redundant reporting requirements, and lowering federal agency costs.

The Amendment 80 Program EDR was designed to assess economic effects on components of the fishery including skippers and crew. The crab program EDR was designed to collect cost, revenue, ownership, and employment data on a periodic basis based on scientific requirements, not necessarily annually. Researchers and community advocates have argued that this kind of distributional data, tracking how catch-share programs affect crew, communities, and consolidation patterns, does not appear in stock assessments and serves purposes beyond opening or closing fisheries. The Gulf of Alaska trawl EDR was already proposed for elimination in 2022, and the current proposal continues a pattern of reducing economic data reporting requirements across North Pacific programs.

How to Comment

Comments must be received, not merely postmarked, by September 15, 2026. All comments become part of the public record and will generally be posted publicly on regulations.gov. Submit electronically at regulations.gov using docket NOAA-NMFS-2026-0463, or by mail to Gretchen Harrington, Assistant Regional Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region NMFS, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802-1668.