Thursday, January 31st, 2013

Materials are available in electronic format for the February 5-8, 2013 Workshop on Pacific Sardine Management Strategy and Harvest Control Parameters. You may request the materials by sending an email to
Mr. Kerry Griffin or pfmc.comments@noaa.gov.

Posted in Coastal Pelagic Species, Coastal pelagic species

Friday, January 11th, 2013

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will convene a workshop to examine possibilities to improve management strategy concepts and elements currently in use for the Pacific sardine fishery.

Purpose

The purpose of the workshop is to consider information in the context of current management of the Pacific sardine resource off the U.S. West Coast.  There will be three primary objectives of the workshop:

1. Evaluate the current management strategy with regard to the biological risk to sardine stocks.  This approach includes reviewing and refining the mathematical specifications to develop a risk assessment projection model that could be used to evaluate different Fmsy proxies and trade-offs achieved by different parameterizations of appropriate harvest control rule (HCR) elements.
2. Consider the possibility of new predictive relationships between sardine recruitment success and environmental parameters; and consider the proportion of the stock that occurs in U.S. waters under varying oceanographic regimes.
3. Review information on California Current ecosystem models and consider elements that would form the basis for a management strategy evaluation (MSE), and develop an initial plan for a process and schedule for a full MSE.

The outcomes of this workshop will be considered by the Council at its April 2013 meeting in Portland, Oregon.  If workshop outcomes warrant consideration of changes to management elements, the process and schedule would be established at the April meeting.

The workshop will be open to the public, and there may be opportunity for public comment, at the discretion of the workshop Chair.  Invited participants will be experts in their respective fields, representing academia, fishing industry, agencies, conservation, and independent scientists.  The invited participants will work toward consensus recommendations addressing the three primary objectives above.

Workshop Dates and Times

The workshop will be held Tuesday, February 5 through Friday, February 8, 2013.  The workshop will begin the first day at 8:30 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. each subsequent day.  Work will conclude each day at 5:00 p.m. or until business for that day is completed.  The workshop may adjourn early on the final day, if sufficient work is completed and at the discretion of the Chair.

Workshop Location

The workshop will be held at the following location:

Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Edward W. “Ted” Scripps II Room of the Seaside Forum
8610 Kennel Way
La Jolla, California, 92037
Driving Directions

Additional Information

This meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Mr. Dale Sweetnam at 858-546-7170 at least five days prior to the meeting date.

If you have additional questions regarding the workshop, please contact Mr. Kerry Griffin at 503-820-2280 ext. 409; toll free 1-866-806-7204.

Posted in Coastal Pelagic Species, Coastal pelagic species

Monday, January 7th, 2013

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will convene a conference call of its Coastal Pelagic Species Management Team (CPSMT) and Coastal Pelagic Species Advisory Subpanel (CPSAS) on Tuesday, January 29, from 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.  A listening station will be available at the Council offices for interested members of the public, and there may be opportunities to attend the meeting remotely.  The primary purpose of the conference call is to discuss the Council’s Fishery Ecosystem Plan, which is scheduled to be adopted at the Council’s April 2013 meeting in Portland, Oregon.  Other items may be addressed as time allows and at the discretion of the Chairs.  These other items may include the February 5-8, 2013 Pacific sardine harvest parameters workshop and a plan for holding future CPSMT and CPSAS elections.

A listening station will be available at the following location:

Pacific Fishery Management Council
7700 NE Ambassador Place, Suite 101
Portland, OR 97220-1384
Telephone: 503-820-2280
Driving Directions

This meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Mr. Kris Kleinschmidt at 503-820-2280 at least five days prior to the meeting date.

If you have additional questions regarding the conference call, please contact Mr. Kerry Griffin at 503-820-2280 ext. 409; toll free 1-866-806-7204.

Posted in Coastal Pelagic Species, Coastal pelagic species