D1 Action Memo APRIL 2019

Status: Original and derived artifacts are available for this document.

Download: pdf

D1 Cooperative Reports
April 2019 Council Meeting

Action Memo
Staff:

Jon McCracken and Sarah Marrinan

Other presenters:

Representatives of the Cooperatives

Action Required:

Annual review of Cooperative Reports

BACKGROUND
The Council has developed several cooperative programs as components of larger catch share programs.
Under these programs, cooperatives have been required or requested to provide an annual report. These
reports are intended as a resource for the Council to track the effectiveness of the cooperative and their
ability to meet the Council’s goal for the programs. Additionally, they are a tool for the cooperatives to
provide feedback on the programs to the Council. In general, these reports are presented by cooperative
managers during the April meeting. An infographic summarizing the cooperative reports is provided
below and will be posted on the cooperative reports webpage. In addition, a table that provides a more
expanded overview of mandatory and voluntary elements of the different cooperative reports is included
in this action memo, as well as a list of active cooperatives and the status of their 2018 fishing year annual
report (2018/19 for the crab fisheries).
As a reminder, for any requests, deletions, and/or clarifications of information provided in the cooperative
reports (voluntary or otherwise), the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) requires Federal agencies (1) to
seek public comment on proposed collections and (2) to submit proposed collections for review and
approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). OMB reviews agency information collection
requests for approval and disapproval. The PRA should not discourage the Council from making requests
for voluntary cooperative information to be included in future cooperative reports. Rather, this guidance
advises the Council to pursue voluntary information requests in a deliberative manner, providing clear
explanation of the objective of the new information. Council and NMFS staff will track these Council
information requests and submit the necessary PRA paperwork to OMB, so a clear explanation for
requests is helpful.
(a) AFA Co-op reports
In 1998, Congress established the American Fisheries Act specifically for the pollock fishery in the BSAI
management area. Among other things, the AFA encouraged domestic enterprise in Alaskan fisheries and
established provisions for the creation of fishery cooperatives in three sectors: at sea catcher processors,
motherships, and inshore vessels. Cooperatives are given exclusive allocation of pollock based on their
members’ historical catch. See below for a list of AFA cooperative reports and Council presentations at
this meeting.
(b) Amendment 80 Co-op reports
Implemented in 2008, the Amendment 80 Program is a limited access privilege program (LAPP) that
allocates a portion of total allowable catch (TAC) for Atka mackerel, Pacific ocean perch, and 3 flatfish

D1 Cooperative Reports
APRIL 2019

species (yellowfin sole, rock sole, and flathead sole), along with an allocation of prohibited species catch
(PSC) quota for halibut and crab, in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI), to the Amendment 80 sector.
See below for a list of Amendment 80 cooperative reports and Council presentations at this meeting.
The Amendment 80 cooperatives also provide halibut bycatch management plans to the Council at the
December meeting. That request originated from the Council during the June 2015 meeting. In addition,
as part of the BSAI flatfish flexibility action (Amendment 105), the Council asked for information on
flatfish exchanges, cooperative transfers, and actual harvest. NMFS provides this information as part of
their December inseason management report.
(c) CGOA Rockfish Co-op reports
In 2007, the Central GOA Pilot Rockfish Program was implemented. The program was intended to
enhance resource conservation and improve economic efficiency for harvesters and processors who
participated in the program. Allocations of the primary rockfish species (Pacific ocean perch, northern
rockfish, and pelagic rockfish) and important incidental catch species (i.e., sablefish, Pacific cod,
shortraker and rougheye rockfish, and thornyhead rockfish) are divided between the catcher vessel sector
and the catcher processor sector. In addition, each sector is allocated halibut PSC limits based on historic
catch of halibut in the target rockfish fisheries. As part of reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act in
2007, the Pilot Program was extended until December 31, 2011. During that time, the Council completed
action on Amendment 88 to the GOA Fishery Management Plan that revised the Rockfish Program and
the amendment was implemented in 2012. See below for a list of CGOA Rockfish Program cooperative
reports and Council presentations at this meeting.
(d) BSAI Crab Co-op reports
The BSAI Crab Rationalization program is a limited access privilege management program, which was
implemented in 2005. The program issued harvest quota shares to vessel owners (License Limitation
Program license holders) and captains, as well as issuing processor quota shares to processors based on
their associated history. The crab rationalization program allows for the voluntary formation of harvesting
cooperatives to coordinate crab harvest. If a quota share holder is associated with a cooperative, the
annual pounds of IFQ that are derived from the quota share holder’s quota is issued to their cooperative
and able to be internally managed and harvested among its members. More than 99 percent of the crab
rationalization harvesting quota share is harvested through cooperatives.
The BSAI Crab rationalization program as implemented in 2005 did not include a pre-established
reporting requirement for cooperatives. In 2013, the Council reviewed an analysis evaluating the
Council’s management options for promoting active participation among lease holders, as well as lease
rates, crew compensation, and active participation through flexible cooperative management. While the
Council opted against a regulatory solution at that time, it requested that the industry use non-regulatory
methods to address the Council’s concerns. The Council requested an annual cooperative report for
industry to report on the effectiveness of non-regulatory measures, noting that these reports would help
the Council determine whether to take regulatory action in the future. The Council letter sent to each of
the cooperatives requested that they voluntarily report on:
• QS transfers to active participant and crew members
• Lease rates
• Crew compensation rates
The letter also requests any additional information or data the cooperatives wish to provide demonstrating
the effectiveness of existing measures and the level of participation in cooperative-established measures.
The Council also recommended using the seven question/response format, as has been employed by many
of the groups in the past, as their preferred reporting structure. See below for a list of BSAI Crab
cooperative reports and Council presentations at this meeting.

The Council has developed catch share programs including four that allow or require the formation of cooperatives. As part of
these programs, cooperatives submit annual reports detailing the use of the cooperative quota or other aspects of the
program.

AFA

BSAI Crab

Amendment 80

Implemented in 1998
Key species – pollock
Cooperatives - 9
Active vessels – 100
Program first wholesale
value - $1.2 billion
• Pounds landed – 2.6 billion

• Implemented in 2005
• Key species – King and
tanner crab
• Cooperatives - 9
• Active vessels – 72
• Program first wholesale
value - $220.8 million
• Pounds landed – 31.6
million

• Implemented in 2008
• Key species – Flatfish,
other groundfish
• Cooperatives -1
• Active vessels – 19
• Program first wholesale
value - $352 million
• Pounds landed – 648.2
million

• Implemented in 2012
• Key species – rockfish,
cod, and sablefish
• Cooperatives - 7
• Active vessels – 29
• Program first wholesale
value - $34 million
• Pounds landed – 48.1
million

Cooperative Report
Includes:

Cooperative Report
Includes:

Cooperative Report
Includes:

• Measures to
increase availability
of QS for transfer to
active participants
and crew members
• Measures to address
high QS lease rates
• Measures to address
low crew
compensation

• Retained and
discarded catch
• Directed and bycatch
species transfers
• Cooperative
monitoring methods
• Percent of
groundfish retained

• Cooperative’s quota
and sideboard limit
• Retained and
discarded catch
• Cooperative
monitoring methods
• Monthly Chinook
bycatch numbers

•
•
•
•
•

Cooperative Report
Includes:
• Allocation and suballocation of pollock
and sideboards
• Retained and
discarded catch
• Cooperative
monitoring methods
• Salmon bycatch
numbers
Current as of: April 2019

Incentive Plan Agreement
Report
Includes:
• Incentive in effect to
reduce salmon bycatch
• Salmon bycatch
numbers
• Transfers of Chinook
salmon and pollock
• Suballocations of
Chinook salmon

GOA Rockfish

D1 Cooperative Reports
APRIL 2019

Summary of the cooperative reporting requirements and voluntary requests for information
Cooperative program

Required information

Established in 50 CFR §679.61(f) as well as Section 210(a)(1)(B) of the AFA:
 Allocation of pollock and sideboard species to cooperative
 Sub-allocations of pollock and sideboard species on a vessel-by-vessel basis
 Retained and discarded catch on an area-by-area and vessel-by-vessel basis
 Method used to monitor fisheries
AFA Cooperative Report
 Actions taken by cooperative against members that exceed catch or bycatch
 The total weight of pollock landed outside the State of Alaska on a vessel-byvessel basis
 Number of salmon taken, by species and season
 Each vessel’s number of appearances on the weekly “dirty 20” lists for nonChinook salmon
Established in 50 CFR 679.21(f)(13)
• Incentive measures in effect in the previous year
• How incentive measures affected individual vessels
• How incentive measures affected salmon savings beyond current levels
• IPA amendments approved by NMFS since the last annual report and the
reasons for amendments
Chinook Salmon Incentive • Sub-allocation to each participating vessel
Plan Agreement (IPA)
• Number of Chinook PSC and amount of pollock (mt) at the start of each
Annual Report
fishing season
• Number of Chinook PSC and amount of pollock (mt) caught at the end of each
season
• Inseason transfers among entities of Chinook salmon PSC or pollock among
AFA cooperatives
• Transfers among IPA vessels
• Amount of pollock (mt) transferred
Established in 50 CFR 679.5(r)(6)(i):
 Cooperative’s quota and sideboard limit

Actual retained and discarded catch of Cooperative’s retained and discarded
Central GOA Rockfish
catch of CQ and sideboard limit by statistical area and vessel-by-vessel basis
Cooperative Report
 Method used by cooperative to monitor fisheries
 Actions taken by cooperative in response to members that exceeded their
catch allowance

Voluntary information

 AFA exempt vessel activity in the GOA
 Inter-temporal harvest information
 Voluntary presentation at April Council
meeting

 Voluntary presentation at April Council
meeting

 Inter-temporal harvest information
 Monthly Chinook bycatch numbers by stock
of origin (pull from NMFS in-season
management reports)
 Use consistent terminology
 Voluntary presentation at April Council
meeting

Deadline

Recipient

April 1st

NPFMC

April 1st

NPFMC

December
15st

NMFS

4

D1 Cooperative Reports
APRIL 2019
Cooperative program

Amendment 80
Cooperative Report

Amendment 80
Halibut Bycatch Avoidance
Progress Report and
Management Plan

Crab Rationalization
Cooperative Report

Required information

Voluntary information

Deadline

Recipient

Established in 50 CFR 679.5(s)(6)(i):
 Actual retained and discarded catch of CQ and GOA sideboard limit by area
and by vessel
 Information on the directed and bycatch species transfers by species, amount,
and date
 Method used to monitor fisheries
 Actions taken by co-ops against members that exceed assigned CQ
 The percent of groundfish retained by the cooperative relative to aggregate
groundfish retained by all Amendment 80 co-ops
 Results from a third-party audit on cooperatives annual groundfish retention

 Catch information from the Northern Bristol
Bay Trawl Area
 A retrospective indication of Amendment 80
catch capacity
 Inter-temporal harvest information
 Voluntary presentation at April Council
meeting

March 1st

NMFS

December
Council
meeting

NPFMC

 Development of effective and verifiable
measures for halibut avoidance
 Performance measurement and assessment
at the boat and company level
 Voluntary presentation at December Council
meeting
 Increase availability of QS for transfer to
active participants and crew members
 Decrease high QS lease rates
 Improve low crew compensation
 Voluntary presentation at April Council
meeting

April
Council
meeting

NPFMC

5

D1 Cooperative Reports
APRIL 2019

List of cooperative reports

Cooperative Name

AFA Cooperatives

Catcher Vessel Intercooperative
Peter Pan Fleet Cooperative
Unisea Fleet Cooperative
Westward Fleet Cooperative
Unalaska Fleet Cooperative
Akutan Catcher Vessel Cooperative
Northern Victor Fleet Cooperative
Mothership Fleet Cooperative
Pollock Conservation Cooperative & High
Seas Catchers’ Cooperative

Submitted
Annual Report
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

Council
Presentation

Yes

Stephanie Madsen

Submitted
Annual Report
Yes

Council
Presentation
Beth Concepcion

Submitted
Annual Report
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

Council
Presentation

John Gruver

Current as of 3/27/19

Cooperative Name

Amendment 80
Cooperatives

Alaska Seafood Cooperative

Current as of 3/27/19

Cooperative Name

CGOA Rockfish
Cooperatives

ISA Rockfish Cooperative
North Pacific Rockfish Cooperative
OBSI Rockfish Cooperative
Star of Kodiak Rockfish Cooperative
Western Alaska Fisheries Rockfish
Cooperative
Pacific Rockfish Cooperative
Best Use Cooperative

Julie Bonney

Yes
Yes

Christopher Oliver

Submitted
Annual Report

Council
Presentation

Current as of 3/27/19

Cooperative Name
Alaska King Crab Harvesters
Cooperative
Aleutian Island Cooperative
Alternative Crab Exchange (ACE)
BSAI Crab Cooperatives

Coastal Villages Crabbing Cooperative
Crab Producers and Harvesters
Association
Dog Boat Cooperative
Inter-cooperative Exchange (ICE)
R & B Cooperative
Trident Affiliated Crab Harvesting
Cooperative

Yes
Yes

Gretar
Gudmundsson

Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

Caitlin Yeager
Joe Sullivan and
Jake Jacobsen

Yes

Current as of 3/26/19, subject to updates

6