Groundfish
Exempted Fishing Permits
Many fishers are interested in applying for exempted fishing permits (EFPs), which allow experimental fisheries that are exempt from usual fishing regulations. EFPs are recommended by the Council and granted by National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).
Exempted Fishing Permits for 2007 Groundfish Fisheries
The Council considered five exempted fishing permits (EFPs) at its November 2006 meeting and recommended only the shoreside whiting EFP for 2007 fisheries. Four other EFPs were considered, but were not approved due to the need to conserve canary rockfish.
Of the proposed EFPs not recommended by the Council for 2007, three were designed to test various hook-and-line configurations to selectively target chilipepper rockfish in federal waters off central California, and were adopted for public review at the September Council meeting. The fourth EFP was sponsored by The Nature Conservancy to test the effect of allowing trawl fishermen to switch to fixed gears to land groundfish in the Conception area. While the Council voiced conceptual support for all four proposed EFPs, they ultimately did not recommend them due to an overall concern for canary rockfish bycatch.
Following the September Council meeting, the Groundfish Management Team (GMT) revised its projection of canary rockfish catches in 2007 scientific research activities. In June of 2006, the GMT was projecting 3.0 mt of canary rockfish would be taken in 2007 research fisheries. However, based on a higher-than-expected catch of canary rockfish in this year's summer trawl survey conducted by the National Marine Fisheries Service, the GMT revised the projected 2007 research catch of canary rockfish to 7.5 mt. The combined canary rockfish impacts from proposed 2007 fisheries left little room under the 2007 canary rockfish optimum yield of 44 mt for these proposed EFPs.
The one EFP recommended by the Council for 2007 allows full retention of all species caught in the shoreside whiting fishery, which enables the prosecution of that fishery. The projected impacts to overfished groundfish species, including canary rockfish, in the 2007 shoreside whiting fishery were factored into the proposed regulations for 2007 and 2008. This fishery has operated under an EFP in recent years, but it is expected to operate under permanent federal regulations beginning in 2008.
PFMC
02/09/07
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