California Sea Grant College Program

Prohibited species catch (PSC) by the groundfish fleet in the Bering Sea has been a persistent and mounting policy concern since the early 1990s. Prohibited species are those species that are prohibited for retention by the groundfish fleet, often in an effort to sustain lucrative targeted fisheries for these species. The allowable catch of these species is controlled by the allocation of fleet-wide quotas to particular gear and fishery target combinations. For instance, those fleets using bottom-trawl gear to catch yellowfin sole in the Eastern Bering Sea are limited in the quantities of Pacific halibut, C. bairdi tanner crab, and red king crab that they can catch in a given fishing year or season.