Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Amendment 125 to the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Fishery Management Plan; Pacific Cod Small Boat Access

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

Notification of availability; request for comments.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) submitted amendment 125 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI FMP) to the Secretary of Commerce for review. If approved, amendment 125 would modify the BSAI Pacific cod jig sector to allow catch from catcher vessels (CV) using hook-and-line or pot gear that are less than or equal to 55 feet (ft) (16.8 meters (m)) length overall (LOA) harvesting Pacific cod in the BSAI during the jig gear A season to accrue to the jig sector allocation. Amendment 125 would promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), BSAI FMP, and other applicable laws.

Comments must be received no later than August 4, 2025.

A plain language summary of this proposed action is available at https://www.regulations.gov/​docket/​NOAA-NMFS-2025-0003. You may submit comments on this document, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2025-0003, by any of the following methods:

• Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov and enter NOAA-NMFS-2025-0003 in the Search box. Click the “Comment” icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
• Mail: Submit written comments to Gretchen Harrington, Assistant Regional Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region NMFS. Mail comments to P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802-1668.

Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying information ( e.g., name, address), confidential business information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter “N/A” in the required fields if you wish to remain anonymous).

Electronic copies of proposed amendment 125, the draft Regulatory Impact Review for proposed amendment 125 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (referred to as the Analysis), and the draft Categorical Exclusion prepared for this action are available from www.regulations.gov or from the NMFS Alaska Region website at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/​region/​alaska.