Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Stand Down Requirements for Trawl Catcher Vessels Transiting Between the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska

NMFS issues regulations to implement a stand down requirement for trawl catcher vessels transiting between the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI) and Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent unexpected shifts of fishing effort between BSAI and GOA fisheries that can lead to overharvests of total allowable catch (TAC) in the Western and Central (W/C) Regulatory Areas of the GOA. This action is intended to further the goals and objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska and the Fishery Management Plan for the Groundfish Fishery of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area (FMPs).