Bering Sea Chinook Salmon Bycatch Management: Final Environmental Impact Statement Volumes I-II

The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) provides decision-makers and the public with an evaluation of the environmental effects of alternative measures to minimize Chinook salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock fishery. The alternatives analyzed in this EIS generally involve limits or “caps” on the number of Chinook salmon that may be caught in the Bering Sea pollock fishery and closure of all or a part of the Bering Sea to pollock fishing once the cap is reached. These closures would occur when a Chinook salmon bycatch cap is reached, even if the entire pollock total allowable catch has not yet been harvested.  This document addresses the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act and other applicable federal law.  The Regulatory Impact Review, in Volume II, provides decision-makers and the public with an evaluation of the social and economic effects of these alternatives to address the requirements of Executive Order 12866, Executive Order 12898, and other applicable federal law.