Regulatory Amendment to Repeal the Vessel Incentive Program: Environmental Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review/Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
February 01, 2008
The potential impacts of repealing the groundfish Vessel Incentive Program in the Exclusive Economic Zone off of Alaska
The Vessel Incentive Program was designed to reduce the rate at which Pacific halibut and red king crab are incidentally caught in trawl fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management areas. However, the program has not performed as intended because of the costs of enforcement and the relatively small number of vessels impacted.
In December 2006 the North Pacific Fishery Management Council took final action to repeal the program in regulation. The analyses in this document address the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act, Executive Order 12866, and the Regulatory Flexibility Act.