§ 679.27 - Improved Retention/Improved Utilization Program.

§ 679.27 Improved Retention/Improved Utilization Program.

(a) Applicability. The owner or operator of a vessel that is required to obtain a Federal fisheries or processor permit under § 679.4 must comply with the IR/IU program set out in this section while fishing for groundfish in the GOA or BSAI, fishing for groundfish in waters of the State of Alaska that are shoreward of the GOA or BSAI, or when processing groundfish harvested in the GOA or BSAI.

(b) IR/IU species. The following species are defined as “IR/IU species” for the purposes of this section:

(1) Pollock.

(2) Pacific cod.

(3) Shallow-water flatfish species complex in the GOA as defined in the annual harvest specifications for the GOA (beginning January 1, 2003).

(4) For catcher/processors not listed in § 679.4(l)(2)(i) using trawl gear in the BSAI, all species listed in Table 2a to this part, except for groundfish in prohibited species status.

(c) Minimum retention requirements -

(1) Definition of retain on board. Notwithstanding the definition at 50 CFR 600.10, for the purpose of this section, to retain on board means to be in possession of on board a vessel.

(2) The following table displays minimum retention requirements by vessel category and directed fishing status:

If you own or operate a ...	and ...	you must retain on board until lawful transfer ...
(i) Catcher vessel	(A) Directed fishing for an IR/IU species is open	all fish of that species brought on board the vessel.
	(B) Directed fishing for an IR/IU species is prohibited	all fish of that species brought on board the vessel up to the MRA for that species.
	(C) Retention of an IR/ IU species is prohibited	no fish of that species.
(ii) Catcher/processor	(A) Directed fishing for an IR/IU species is open	a primary product from all fish of that species brought on board the vessel.
	(B) Directed fishing for an IR/IU species is prohibited	a primary product from all fish of that species brought on board the vessel up to the point that the round-weight equivalent of primary products on board equals the MRA for that species.
	(C) Retention of an IR/IU species is prohibited	no fish or product of that species.
(iii) Mothership	(A) Directed fishing for an IR/IU species is open	a primary product from all fish of that species brought on board the vessel
	(B) Directed fishing for an IR/IU species is prohibited	a primary product from all fish of that species brought on board the vessel up to the point that the round-weight equivalent of primary products on board equals the MRA for that species.
	(C) Retention of an IR/IU species is prohibited	no fish or product of that species.

(d) Bleeding codends and shaking longline gear. Any action intended to discard or release an IR/IU species prior to being brought on board the vessel is prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to bleeding codends and shaking or otherwise removing fish from longline gear.

(e) At-sea discard of product. Any product from an IR/IU species may not be discarded at sea, unless such discarding is necessary to meet other requirements of this part.

(f) Discard of fish or product transferred from other vessels. The retention requirements of this section apply to all IR/IU species brought on board a vessel, whether harvested by that vessel or transferred from another vessel. At-sea discard of IR/IU species or products that were transferred from another vessel is prohibited.

(g) IR/IU species as bait. IR/IU species may be used as bait provided that the deployed bait is physically secured to authorized fishing gear. Dumping of unsecured IR/IU species as bait (chumming) is prohibited.

(h) Previously caught fish. The retention and utilization requirements of this section do not apply to incidental catch of dead or decomposing fish or fish parts that were previously caught and discarded at sea.

(i) Minimum utilization requirements. If you own or operate a catcher/processor or mothership, the minimum utilization requirement for an IR/IU species harvested in the BSAI is determined by the directed fishing status for that species according to the following table:

If...	then your total weight of retained or lawfully transferred products produced from your catch or receipt of that IR/IU species during a fishing trip must...
(1) directed fishing for an IR/IU species is open,	equal or exceed 15 percent of the round-weight catch or round-weight delivery of that species during the fishing trip.
(2) directed fishing for an IR/IU species is prohibited,	equal or exceed 15 percent of the round-weight catch or round-weight delivery of that species during the fishing trip or 15 percent of the MRA for that species, whichever is lower.
(3) retention of an IR/IU species is prohibited,	equal zero.

(j) [Reserved]

[62 FR 63890, Dec. 3, 1997, as amended at 62 FR 65381, Dec. 12, 1997; 68 FR 52144, Sept. 2, 2003; 69 FR 32903, June 14, 2004; 71 FR 17381, Apr. 6, 2006; 72 FR 52722, Sept. 14, 2007; 73 FR 76166, Dec. 15, 2008; 74 FR 62508, Nov. 30, 2009; 75 FR 53069, Aug. 30, 2010; 77 FR 6502, Feb. 8, 2012; 78 FR 12632, Feb. 25, 2013]