Wednesday, September 14th, 2011
The process of removing Washington’s Elwha and Glines Canyon dams begins this Saturday in Olympic National Park. George Pess of the NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center gave a presentation to the Council’s Habitat Committee yesterday, including a nifty animation showing how the Elwha and Glines dams will be removed.
For more information, see the following links:
Tags: dams, elwha, Salmon
Posted in Ecosystem-based management, Habitat and communities, Salmon
Thursday, March 10th, 2011
The Pacific Fishery Management Council has developed three West Coast salmon management alternatives for 2011. See the press release here.
Please visit the Current Salmon Season Management webpage to view the alternatives.
A final alternative for salmon seasons will be chosen at the Council’s April meeting in Costa Mesa, California. Final action is scheduled for Wednesday, April 12. A detailed schedule for 2011 salmon management is available here.
Tags: Salmon
Posted in Hot topics, Salmon
Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010
The Council has written a letter to National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on the management of Mitchell Act hatcheries, which were built to compensate for the impacts of the Columbia Basin hydropower system on salmon and steelhead. The Council sent a letter on NMFS’ draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) on Columbia basin hatchery operations and funding to NMFS Regional Administrator Will Stelle on Monday.
The NMFS process will affect future policy direction for salmon production in the Columbia Basin. The Council discussed the DEIS at its September and November meetings, heard public testimony and feedback from its advisory bodies, and drafted a letter containing several critiques of the DEIS, as well as specific recommendations for changes and updates in the DEIS prior to it being used as the foundation for decision making. In particular, the Council noted that the preferred alternative did not meet the Mitchell Act’s original intent and purpose, which was to address the environmental impacts and loss of salmon and steelhead spawning habitat and productivity due to the Columbia River hydropower system. The Council recommended that alternatives include options for increased hatchery production, which the Council believes can be done in a manner consistent with wild stock rebuilding, given current technologies and additional funding. The Council urged NMFS to maintain its commitments to the people and communities that depend on Columbia Basin salmon by continuing to support Mitchell Act hatcheries.
The letter is available here.
Tags: hatcheries, Mitchell Act, Salmon
Posted in Salmon
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Council) Ad Hoc Salmon Amendment Committee (SAC) will hold a meeting to develop draft alternatives and plan analyses for an amendment to the Salmon Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to address the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA) requirements for annual catch limits (ACL) and accountability measures (AM). This meeting of the SAC is open to the public.
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) recently published amended guidelines for National Standard 1 (NS1) of the MSA to provide guidance on how to comply with new ACL and AM requirements. The NS1 guidelines include recommendations for establishing several related reference points to ensure scientific and management uncertainty are accounted for when management measures are established.
NEW MEETING LOCATION
The meeting will be held at the following location:
Embassy Suites Hotel (adjacent to PFMC Parking Lot)
Pine Room II
7900 NE 82nd Avenue
503-460-3000
For more information on the April 1, 2010, Salmon Amendment Committee work session, please contact Mr. Chuck Tracy at (503) 820-2280 ext. 415 or toll free 1-866-806-7204.
Tags: Salmon
Posted in Salmon, Salmon
Friday, February 26th, 2010
The Historical Data Document for salmon fisheries and runs was just updated with preliminary 2009 information, and most 2008 data was finalized. This document has four parts: (1) ocean effort and landings, (2) freshwater spawning escapement and catch, (3) ocean fishing regulations, and (4) economic information on salmon fisheries. The document provides the same information as Appendices A-D in the review of 2009 ocean salmon fisheries, but includes individual years as well as five-year averages for earlier years, and provides the data in excel spreadsheets so folks can more easily download and manipulate data for their own purposes. Visit the Salmon Historical Document webpage.
Tags: fishery data, Salmon
Posted in Salmon
