Fishery Management Plan and Amendments: FMP: Amendment 23
Considerations For a New Harvest Specification Framework That Incorporates Revised National Standard 1 Guidelines to Prevent Overfishing
Draft Environmental Assessment
Published September 2010
The purpose and need for Amendment 23 is to amend the harvest specifications framework in the Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to meet new requirements in the MSRA regarding annual catch limits and accountability measures, and to be consistent with the revised NS1 guidelines. The revised NS1 guidelines introduce and/or define new fishery management concepts including overfishing limits (OFLs), an acceptable biological catch (ABC) that incorporates a scientific uncertainty buffer, ACLs, annual catch targets (ACTs), and AMs that are designed to better account for scientific and management uncertainty and to prevent overfishing.
Annual catch limits and accountability measures are required to be implemented by 2011 for most species and by 2010 for those species designated as being subject to overfishing. There are no groundfish species currently subject to overfishing, so 2011 is the implementation goal.
Document Downloads
- Download Letter Partially Approving Amendment 23 and Disapproving Amendment 16-5 to the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (Dated December 27, 2010)
- Download Groundfish Fishery Management Plan, Amendment 23: Considerations For a New Harvest Specification Framework That Incorporates Revised National Standard 1 Guidelines to Prevent Overfishing; DRAFT Environmental Assessment (Published September 2010)
- Download Groundfish Amendment 16-5 and Amendment 23 FMP Language (Published September 2010)
