February 24, 2017 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Yesterday morning National Marine Fisheries Service closed the “A” season for Pacific cod in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) effective today at noon, Alaska time. The TAC had been reached which prompted the closure on the earliest date ever for the “A” season. In 2016, the A season trawl P-cod fishery remained open until March 9.

The early closure is a defining note in a fishery that has historically included deliveries to Adak’s cod processing plant since it opened in 1999.

Those years were also marked by the American Fisheries Act, the BSAI crab rationalization program, and Amendment 80 to the BSAI groundfish plan, actions that changed the face of Alaska fisheries. Each of those landmark laws rationalized vast sections of pollock, cod, and crab fisheries. All three species have been delivered to and processed at the Adak plant over the years.

Rationalizing a fishery means putting management tools in place that, among other goals, eliminate the race for fish and protect historic users both onshore and offshore. But until last fall, shoreplants in the Aleutians west of 170 degrees longitude were not included in any of the rationalization plans in the area.

There are only two plants in the area: Atka and Adak. Atka has only processed halibut and sablefish.  Adak, which since it opened in 1999 has been reliant on cod, but has also processed crab, halibut and sablefish and limited amounts of pollock.

Since 2008, the North Pacific Council has been aware of the need for “fishing community protections in the Aleutian Islands” precisely because of the rationalization schemes.

Then last October, the Council passed Amendment 113 to respond to the issue, noting the “…increased risk that the historical share of BSAI cod of other industry participants and communities that depend on shoreplant processing in the region may be diminished. The BSAI Pacific cod TAC split and relatively low Pacific cod stock abundance n the Aleutian Islands further increase the need for community protections.”

Amendment 113 set aside 5,000 mt of Pacific cod for delivery to the Adak plant, but it is not a ‘guarantee’ of deliveries.  AM 113 creates a time-limited priority for shoreside processing in the Aleutians until March 15, but only if the Aleutian shoreside processors have taken at least 1,000 tons by Feb. 28.

Prior to the rationalization of the AI cod fishery, Adak processed on average 8,000 – 10,000 mt of cod per year, but the ability to plan for even 5,000 tons has been made difficult by factors related to fishing behavior that eventually led the Council to adopt AM 113.

One of the factors is that catcher processors who are part of the rationalized fisheries can also act as motherships and accept deliveries from other catcher vessels to process only. AM 113 does not prohibit this, but obligates deliveries under certain conditions to shoreplants during the A season.

There are three triggers in the amendment that would relieve vessels of the obligation. First, if the plants notify NMFS by December 1 that they will not be taking deliveries, catcher boats can deliver anywhere. Second, if the plants have not taken at least 1,000 mt by February 28, then the 5,000 mt set-aside will become available for any other processors, including motherships. Third, by March 15 the restriction to deliver shoreside is lifted.

Shortly after the amendment was adopted, The Groundfish Forum, representing six companies and 20 trawl catcher processors, along with United Catcher Boats, B and N Fisheries, and the Katie Ann LLC, filed suit against NOAA Fisheries saying the amendment violated national standards and other laws. Part of their position is the “harvest set-aside” part of the amendment is unlawful.

“There are trawl catcher vessel owners, who have delivered a fair amount of cod to the Adak plant over the years when it was operating, that would be willing to deliver to another renovated shore plant if it was in operation,” said Brent Paine, executive director of the United Catcher Boats, a plaintiff in the suit. “They just want the option to deliver their catch to multiple markets, onshore or offshore.”

Since the filing, the Adak Community Development Corporation (ACDC), the Aleutian-Pribilof Island Community Development Association (APICDA), and the city of Adak have joined as intervenors in the lawsuit, supporting AM113. The cities of Adak and Atka may also join as intervenors.

“NMFS did an excellent job in responding to comments on national standards in the Federal Register comments,” said Dave Fraser, board member for ADCD. “I think the record is good.”

The amendment is the result of nearly a decade of consideration, during which Amendment 80 and 85 were passed. Those regulations created community development quota entities and cooperatives in the groundfish fisheries and amended cod allocations in the BSAI. It was also the time of sea lion protection measures, and a version of AM 113 was included in the proposed mitigation regulation. In the end, Fraser believes the process has developed an amendment that has “passed muster” on all the national standards and requirements.

“Amendment 113 does not change by a single pound any of the fish allocated under AM 85,” said Fraser. “The only thing that will change is who processes it.

“The set aside for Adak is less than our historic average annual plant production,” he noted. Prior to 2010, Adak received 3-6 percent of the total BSAI allocation, with an average of 4.7 percent. Figuring 4.3 percent of the aggregate of 2015’s TAC, according to NMFS analysis, is 10,836 mt.

“It’s a minimal program because the Council had to balance competing interests,” Fraser notes.

The Adak plant has been out of commission since a severe 2015 winter storm damaged portions of the roof. The city sent a letter to NMFS, according to AM 113 protocol, notifying them they would not be buying cod this winter, last fall. The plant is expected to be in full operation by 2018.

The lawsuit was filed in the D.C. District Court.

This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.