Thursday, January 24th, 2013
NOAA has made available for public review, their Draft Division Enforcement Priorities for 2013 document. This document is available through the NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement, Enforcement Priorities website for the next 60 days.
Please email NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement your comments at enforcementpriorities@noaa.gov or mail them to:
NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement
Attention: Tracy Dunn
8484 Georgia Avenue, Suite 415
Silver Spring, MD 20910
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.
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:
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
Thursday, November 8th, 2012
Appointments to Council Advisory Bodies
At its November meeting, the Council made the following appointments for the 2013-2015 advisory body term. For more information on the nomination process and those nominated, see the November briefing book materials.
Coastal Pelagic Species Advisory Subpanel
California Commercial Seats
Oregon Commercial Seat
Washington Commercial Seat
California Processor Seat
Oregon Processor Seat
Washington Processor Seat
California Sport/Charter Seat
Conservation Seat
California Seats
Oregon Seats
Washington Seats
Fixed Gear At-Large Seats
Bottom Trawl Seat
Mid-Water Trawl Seat
Trawl At-Large Seats
Open Access South of Cape Mendocino Seat
Open Access North of Cape Mendocino Seat
Processors At-Large Seats
At-Sea Processor Seat
California Charter South of Point Conception Seat
California Charter North of Point Conception Seat
Oregon Charter Seat
Washington Charter Seat
Sport Fisheries At-Large Seats
Conservation Seat
Tribal Seat
Highly Migratory Species Advisory Subpanel
Commercial Troll Seat
Commercial Purse Seine Seat
Commercial Gillnet Seat
Commercial Fisheries At-Large Seats
Processor South of Cape Mendocino Seat
Processor North of Cape Mendocino Seat
California Charter Seat
Washington/Oregon Charter Seat
Private Sport Seat
Conservation Seat
Public At-Large
California Troll Seat
Oregon Troll Seat
Washington Troll Seat
Commercial Gillnet Seat
Processor Seat
California Charter Seat
Oregon Charter Seat
Washington Charter Seat
California Sport Seat
Oregon Sport Seat
Washington Sport Seat
Idaho Sport Seat
Washington Tribal Seat
California Tribal Seat
Conservation Seat
Commercial Fishery Seat
Sport Fishery Seat
Conservation Seat
Northwest or Columbia River Tribal Seat
California Tribal Seat
Public At-Large
Scientific and Statistical Committee
Coastal Pelagic Species Management Team
Tribal Seat
Monday, November 5th, 2012
Just a Reminder! If you ever wonder what agenda item the Council is on during a Council meeting, wonder no more. The status of the Council meeting agenda is posted on Twitter at @PFMCagenda. See how to sign up for cell phone notifications here. You can also follow the regular Council Twitter feed at @PacificCouncil.
Wednesday, October 17th, 2012
The Briefing Book for the November 2012 Council meeting has been posted to the Council’s website on the “Current Briefing Book” webpage. The Briefing Book contains “situation summaries” (brief summaries that provide background for each agenda item), reports and materials for each agenda item, and written public comment.
Monday, October 15th, 2012
The U.S. Coast Guard would like to remind all fishing vessel owners and operators regarding an upcoming change to fishing vessel safety requirements, involving new mandates established by the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010. Beginning October 16th, 2012, all commercial fishing, fish tender and fish processing vessels that operate (or transit) more than 3 nautical miles offshore must be able to demonstrate full compliance with the existing fishing industry vessel safety regulations found in 46 C.F.R. Part 28, via a mandatory safety examination. While there are a few options of how to demonstrate this compliance, having a current Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety Decal (not more than 2 years old), is the most straightforward method. For further information regarding this change, please see the following link: http://www.uscg.mil/d13/cfvs/. The website contains a copy of the letter from U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters with information regarding this change, as well as a Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety Checklist Generator, which will allow vessel owners to see what equipment their vessels are required to have. The website also provides contact information for local Coast Guard Fishing Vessel Safety Coordinators and Dockside Examiners.
For further information, please contact Mr. Dan Hardin (Coast Guard District 13 Fishing Vessel Safety Coordinator): 206-220-7226; daniel.e.hardin@uscg.mil.
Monday, October 1st, 2012
The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and its advisory bodies will meet November 2-7, 2012 in Costa Mesa, California to address issues related to management of groundfish, salmon, Pacific halibut, coastal pelagic species, highly migratory species, ecosystem based management, and habitat matters.
Please visit the “Current Council Meeting” webpage for the meeting notice and agenda details.
Monday, September 24th, 2012
The Pacific Fishery Management Council is seeking qualified candidates to serve on advisory subpanels and committees regarding West Coast marine fishing and habitat issues. To ensure consideration, nominations should be received at the Council office no later than October 11, 2012.
Please visit the Council’s “Nominations for 2013-2015 Advisory Body Terms” to download the necessary nomination forms and the full detailed announcement.
Saturday, September 15th, 2012
The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will convene a conference call of its Coastal Pelagic Species Management Team (CPSMT). The primary purpose of the conference call is to discuss the proposed harvest parameters workshop. Other items that may be discussed include the 2012 Pacific sardine stock assessment update and items related to the November 2012 Council meeting.
The conference call will be held on Tuesday October 9, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time.
A listening station will be held at the following location:
Pacific Fishery Management Council
Small Conference Room
7700 NE Ambassador Place
Portland, OR 97220-1384
Telephone: 503-820-2280
Driving Directions
For more information regarding the CPSMT Conference call, please contact Mr. Kerry Griffin at 503-820-2280, ext. 409; toll free 1-866-806-7204.
The 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.
