Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area; Chum Salmon Savings Area

NMFS is implementing Amendment 35 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Groundfish Fishery of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area (BSAI). This amendment prohibits the use of trawl gear in a specified area of the Bering Sea during the pollock non-roe season. Regulatory amendments also are implemented that would increase 1995 observer coverage for mothership processor vessels and for some shoreside processors receiving pollock harvested in the catcher vessel operational area (CVOA), and would require the mothership processor vessels and shoreside processors to obtain the capability for electronic transmission of daily observer reports. This action is necessary to reduce chum salmon bycatch amounts in the pollock fishery and is intended to promote the objectives of the FMP.