Groundfish blog

March 2012 Briefing Book Deadline

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

March 2012 Briefing Book Deadline

Public Comment Deadline – Advance Briefing Book

Comments or materials received by 11:59 pm, February 9, 2012, will be mailed to Council members and appropriate advisory bodies prior to the meeting. This is known as the “Advance Briefing Book Deadline.”

Supplemental Public Comment Deadline

Comments or materials received at the Council office after February 9 but by 11:59 pm, February 26 will be included in the supplemental materials distributed to the Council on the first day of the meeting. This is known as the “Supplemental Public Comment Deadline.”

How to Submit Comments

Written comments and materials on matters before the Council are accepted by the Council at any time. However, the public is encouraged to submit comments and materials as far in advance of the meeting as possible to maximize their exposure to the Council process. Comments in electronic format are most welcome, as they expedite posting to the Council’s website. Please email your comments to: pfmc.comments@noaa.gov. Of course, we accept comments by “snail mail” and fax; please see our “Contact Us” page.

Posted in Council Meetings, Council operations, Groundfish

Request for Nominations: At-Large Position on the Scientific and Statistical Committee

Thursday, January 12th, 2012

Request for Nominations for an At-Large Position on the Scientific and Statistical Committee

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) is seeking qualified candidates to consider for an at-large position on its Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC). The successful candidate will serve out the remainder of the 2010-2012 Council advisory body term. Please see the Council’s Advisory Body Vacancies webpage for all the specifics. The deadline to submit nominations is February 8, 2012.

Posted in Council operations, Groundfish

Groundfish Essential Fish Habitat Review Committee to Hold Work Session

Wednesday, December 14th, 2011

The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Council) Ad Hoc Groundfish Essential Fish Habitat Review Committee (EFHRC) will hold a work session January 17-18, 2012.  The meeting will be held in Portland, Oregon, and is open to the public.

The purpose of the work session is to continue developing the Phase I report on the review of information relevant to EFH for Pacific Coast groundfish stocks.  The Phase I report is designed to compile new and newly-available information, and compare it with the suite of information that was used to establish the current groundfish EFH designations.  The EFHRC is scheduled to report to the Council at its April 1-6, 2012 meeting in Seattle, Washington.

Dates/times: January 17-18, 2012.  Start times are 10:00 a.m. the first day, and 8:30 a.m. the second day.  The meeting will continue until 5:00 p.m. or until business is concluded each day.

The meeting will be held in Portland at the following location:

Embassy Suites Portland Airport
7900 NE 82nd Avenue
Pine II Room
Portland, OR 97220
Telephone: 503-460-3000
Driving Directions

Additional Information

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.

For further information, please contact Mr. Kerry Griffin at (503) 820-2280 ext. 409.


A draft agenda and other materials will be available in advance of the work session.

Posted in Groundfish, Groundfish, Habitat and communities, Habitat and communities

Final Rule for 2012 Groundfish Harvest Specifications Published

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

The final rule establishing the 2012 harvest specifications and management measures for certain groundfish species taken in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (PCGFMP) was published in the Federal Register on December 13, 2011. This action includes regulations to implement Secretarial Amendment 1 to the PCGFMP.

Download the December 13, 2011 Federal Register notice to view the details.

Posted in Groundfish

Winter Newsletter Now Available

Thursday, December 8th, 2011

The Winter issue of the Pacific Council News is now available. Please visit the Council’s Newsletters webpage for details.

Posted in Coastal Pelagic Species, Ecosystem-based management, Groundfish, Habitat and communities, Highly migratory species, Hot topics, Pacific halibut, Salmon

Northwest and Southwest Stakeholder Conference Call on NOAA’s Draft Enforcement Priorities

Tuesday, December 6th, 2011

Special Agents in Charge Vicki Nomura and Don Masters of NOAA Office of Law Enforcement’s Northwest and Southwest Divisions, respectively, would like to invite you to participate in a conference call on Monday, December 12, 2011 to outline NOAA’s Draft Enforcement Priorities, which are open for public comment through January 9, 2012. The draft priorities document identifies the national priorities for Fiscal Year 2012 and gives examples of regional priorities that support those national priorities.

Conference Call Date and Time:

Monday, December 12, 2011
11 a.m. Pacific Standard Time
Dial-in: 888-469-2087
Verbal passcode: ENFORCEMENT WEST COAST

The document — as well as guidelines for commenting by the deadline via email, fax and mail — can be found on the NOAA OLE Enforcement Priorities website.

NOAA’s Draft Enforcement Priorities reflect extensive input and guidance from those of you who submitted comments last year as we began the process of identifying our national priorities. Regional priorities vary with the specific resources, activities, and threats across the country. What may be a high priority in one region may not be a priority in another. Equally, fish stocks, fishing gear, and management programs are not identical across the country. Thus, NOAA Office of Law Enforcement must tailor our priorities appropriately.

NOAA OLE looks forward to your participation in this conference call specifically for the Northwest and Southwest Divisions.

For further information, please contact:

Lesli Bales-Sherrod, Communications specialist
Lesli.Bales-Sherrod@noaa.gov
NOAA Office of Law Enforcement
8484 Georgia Ave., Suite 415
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Phone: 301-427-2300 ext. 103

**This information has been posted as a courtesy to the Pacific Fishery Management Council family and constituents.**

Posted in Coastal Pelagic Species, Ecosystem-based management, Groundfish, Highly migratory species, Pacific halibut, Salmon

Council’s Trawl Rationalization & Intersector Allocation Trailing Actions Webpage Updated!

Friday, December 2nd, 2011

The Council’s Trawl Rationalization (Amendment 20) and Intersector Allocation (Amendment 21) Trailing Actions webpage has been updated with new information.

Posted in Groundfish

NMFS Announces Year-End Information for the Trawl Rationalization Program

Friday, December 2nd, 2011

NMFS announces year-end information for the Trawl Rationalization Program; the December 1, 2011 Public Notice includes information about:

  1. Moratorium on Quota Pound (QP) Transfers
  2. Pause in Observer Discard Data Uploads
  3. IFQ Website Temporary Unavailability
  4. 2012 Quota Share (QS) and Vessel Accounts Information
  5. 2012 QS Permit and Vessel Account Renewals
  6. Change in Ownership of Vessels Participating in the IFQ Fishery
  7. 2012 Shorebased IFQ Program Allocation
  8. 2012 Lingcod will not be Split
  9. 2011 Surplus Carryover Information
  10. Public View of IFQ Account Balances
  11. OLE Declarations Reminder
  12. Further changes for 2012 to be announced soon

For Further Information:

Posted in Groundfish

NOAA Seeks Input on Enforcement Priorities

Tuesday, November 29th, 2011

On November 8, 2011, NOAA released a draft of its enforcement priorities and invited the public to submit comments through January 9, 2012 (midnight, Eastern Standard Time). To view the priorities, and how to comment, please see the following NOAA Office of Law Enforcement webpage.

Posted in Groundfish, Highly migratory species, Pacific halibut, Salmon

NMFS Publishes Final “List of Fisheries for 2012″

Tuesday, November 29th, 2011

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) publishes its final List of Fisheries (LOF) for 2012, as required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The final LOF for 2012 reflects new information on interactions between commercial fisheries and marine mammals. NMFS must classify each commercial fishery on the LOF into one of three categories under the MMPA based upon the level of serious injury and mortality of marine mammals that occurs incidental to each fishery. The classification of a fishery in the LOF determines whether participants in that fishery are subject to certain provisions of the MMPA, such as registration, observer coverage, and take reduction plan (TRP) requirements.

This final rule is effective January 1, 2012. Information regarding the LOF, along with the 2012 LOF, may be obtained from the NMFS LOF website.

Posted in Groundfish, Highly migratory species, Salmon

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