Current through August 30, 2024
(a) In the Bering
Sea District, the commercial C. opilioTanner crab fishery may
open only if the department's analysis of preseason survey data indicates the
population of C. opilioTanner crab
(1) contains an estimated spawning biomass of
at least 25 percent of Bmsy;
(2) repealed 6/10/2010.
(b) If the estimated spawning biomass of
C. opilioTanner crab is
(1)
at least 25 percent of Bmsy, but less than
Bmsy, the total allowable catch will be
(Fmsy /3+(Bt-0.25 x
Bmsy) x 0.417 x Fmsy /(0.75 x
Bmsy)) x 100 percent of the estimated mature male
biomass or 58 percent of exploited legal males, whichever is less;
(2) at or above
Bmsy, the total allowable catch will be (0.75 x
Fmsy) x 100 percent of the estimated mature male
biomass or 58 percent of the exploited legal males, whichever is
less.
(c) In
implementing this harvest strategy, the board directs the department to use the
best scientific information available and to consider the reliability of
estimates of C. opilio Tanner crab, the manageability of the
fishery, and any other factors the department determines necessary to be
consistent with the sustained yield principles.
(d) For the purposes of this section,
(1) "Bmsy" means the
population biomass of mature male and female C. opilioTanner
crab that could produce maximum sustained yield under prevailing environmental
conditions;
(2)
"Bt" means the biomass of mature male and female
C. opilioTanner crab in a given year;
(3) "estimated mature male biomass" means the
estimated biomass of all morphometrically mature male C. opilio
Tanner crab;
(4)
"estimated spawning biomass" means the estimated biomass of all
morphometrically mature male C. opilioTanner crab and all
morphometrically mature female C. opilioTanner crab;
(5) "exploited legal males" means 100 percent
of the new-shell male C. opilio Tanner crab that are at least 102
millimeters (four inches) in width of shell, plus a percentage of old-shell
male C. opilio Tanner crab that are at least 102 millimeters in width of shell
estimated at the time of the survey; the percentage of old-shell male C. opilio
Tanner crab will be based on the expected fishery selectivity for old-shell
verses new-shell male C. opilio Tanner crab;
(6) "Fmsy" means the
fishing mortality of the mature male C. opilioTanner crab
stock that could produce maximum sustained yield under prevailing environmental
conditions.
Authority:AS
16.05.251
