Meetings and Events blog

Highly Migratory Species Management Team to Meet

Friday, March 23rd, 2012

The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Council) Highly Migratory Species Management Team (HMSMT) will hold a work session Monday, April 30 – Wednesday, May 2, 2012; which is open to the public. The HMSMT work session will begin at 1:00 p.m. on April 30 and at 8:30 a.m. on the following days, and continue until business is completed on each day.

The project team will meet in Portland, Oregon at the following location:

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

For more information regarding the project team meeting, please contact Dr. Kit Dahl at 503-820-2280, ext. 422; toll free 1-866-806-7204.

The HMSMT will discuss further development of information to support Council recommendations on an international management framework for North Pacific albacore tuna. The HMSMT presented information to the Council at its March 2012 meeting and the Council requested additional information to support discussion at its June 21-26, 2012, meeting in San Mateo, California. The HMSMST may also discuss work planning and future assignments.

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.

Posted in Highly migratory species, Highly migratory species, Meetings and Events, Uncategorized

April 2012 Council Meeting Internet Audio Stream

Wednesday, March 21st, 2012

The April 1-6, 2012 meeting of the Pacific Fishery Management Council will be streamed live on the internet. The live audio will be broadcast starting with the “Informational Groundfish Briefing” scheduled to start Sunday, April 1 at 10 a.m. Pacific time. Get the April meeting agenda.

To Listen to the Meeting

To listen, follow the agenda, and view the powerpoint presentations, go to the PFMC Live Meeting link. Please note that your name and email address will be required to join the meeting (this will expedite any technical assistance if the need arises).

Alternate Instructions to Join the Meeting

If you are unable to join the meeting through the above link, then please follow these steps:

Copy this address and paste it into your web browser:
https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/pacificfishery/join (This Will Launch the “launch.rtc” file if Microsoft Office Live Meeting is installed on your computer; or you may have to choose “Accept Terms and Install Client” if it is not already installed.)
Enter the Following Information:

Meeting ID: ZN7G78
Entry Code: (Leave This Field Blank)
Location: Choose the following:
https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/pacificfishery

Choose “Join”

Technical Contact

For more information on how to use the Microsoft Live Meeting live streaming service, please see the Quick Reference Guide. You may also send an email to Sandra for additional assistance.

For MacIntosh — If you have never installed the “Live Meeting Web Access Client” on your workstation, please email Sandra.Krause@noaa.gov for those instructions. Please note, the “Live Meeting Web Access Client” does not provide for audio, but you may view the PowerPoint presentations and the agenda flow of the meeting.

If you need your own personal audio copies of recorded Council meeting CDs (MP3 or WAV formats), please contact our recorder, Mr. Craig Hess, Martin Enterprises, phone (360) 749-4038.

Posted in Council Meetings, Salmon

April 2012 Briefing Book Available Online

Wednesday, March 21st, 2012

The Briefing Book for the April 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.

Posted in Council Meetings, Council operations, Ecosystem-based management, Groundfish, Habitat and communities, Hot topics, Pacific halibut, Salmon, Salmon

April 2012 Council Meeting

Wednesday, March 21st, 2012

April 2012 Council Decisions

April 2012 Briefing Book

Posted in Council Meetings, Council operations, Uncategorized

Detailed April 2012 Council Meeting Agenda Available

Monday, March 19th, 2012

We have posted the detailed April 2012 Council Meeting to our “Current Council Meeting” webpage.

For convenience, you may also download a copy of the detailed April 2012 Council Meeting Agenda.

Posted in Council Meetings, Salmon

HMS FMP Deep-Set Longline Swordfish Retention Limits Final Rule

Monday, March 19th, 2012

National Marine Fisheries Service has issued a final rule under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to modify retention limits for swordfish harvested in the U.S. West Coast-based deep-set tuna longline (DSLL) fishery. The DSLL fishery is managed under the Fishery Management Plan for U.S. West Coast Fisheries for Highly Migratory Species (HMS FMP). The final rule implements the Pacific Fishery Management Council’s recommendation to modify HMS FMP regulations governing the possession and landing limits of swordfish captured in the DSLL fishery as follows: if a vessel without an observer onboard uses any J-hooks (tuna hooks), the trip limit is 10 swordfish; if a vessel without an observer onboard uses only circle hooks, the trip limit is 25 swordfish; if the vessel carries a NMFS-approved observer during the entire fishing trip, there is no limit on swordfish retained.

This final rule is accessible at: https://federalregister.gov/a/2012-6577.

For further information, please contact: Mr. Craig Heberer, Sustainable Fisheries Division, NMFS, 760-431-9440, ext. 303.

Posted in Highly migratory species, Highly migratory species

April 2012 Council Meeting Notice and Proposed Agenda

Friday, March 16th, 2012

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and its advisory bodies will meet March 31-April 6, 2012 in Seattle, Washington to address issues related to salmon, Pacific halibut, groundfish, coastal pelagic species, and habitat matters.

Please visit the “Current Council Meeting” webpage for the meeting notice and agenda details.

Posted in Council Meetings, Hot topics, Salmon

Ecosystem Plan Development Team to Hold a Work Session on the Development of a Fishery Ecosystem Plan

Thursday, March 15th, 2012

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will convene a meeting of the Ecosystem Plan Development Team (EPDT) that is open to the public. Please note, this is not a public hearing; it is a work session for the primary purpose of drafting a report and recommendations to the Council on the Development of a Fishery Ecosystem Plan (FEP).

The EPDT will meet on Thursday, April 12, 2012 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., or when business for the day is completed.

The meeting will be held at:

Hilton Seattle Airport
Mercer B Room
17620 International Boulevard
Seattle, Washington 98188-4001
(206) 244-4800
Driving Directions

The primary purpose of the meeting is to address Council requests from and since the November 2011 Council meeting, revise and expand sections of the Council’s developing Fishery Ecosystem Plan, discuss the content and format of an annual ecosystem report, explore mechanisms for incorporating ecosystem science into stock assessments, and revisit the need and mechanisms for expanding protective measures for unexploited forage species. The EPDT may also develop recommendations for the June 2012 Council meeting.

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.

For further information about the EPDT work session, please contact Mr. Mike Burner at 503-820-2280, ext. 414; toll free 1-866-806-7204.

Posted in Ecosystem-based management, Ecosystem-based management

March 2012 Council Meeting Decision Summary Document Available

Monday, March 12th, 2012

The Pacific Fishery Management Council met March 2-7, 2012 in Sacramento, California. The March 2012 Council Meeting Decision Summary Document summarizes the decisions made during that meeting.