Friday, July 15th, 2011
Amendment 2 to the HMS FMP was approved by NMFS on June 29, 2011. An updated version of the FMP incorporating these changes is available on the Council website. Visit the HMS FMP page.
Uncategorized blog
Regulatory Checklist for Commercial Albacore Fishermen
Wednesday, June 15th, 2011
The following information is adapted from 2011 “To Do” & Regulatory Hassles List for U.S. Albacore Fishermen distributed by the Western Fishboat Owners Association (visit WFOA permits webpage)
2011 Albacore Permits General Information
HMS Permit Application (Under PFMC HMS FMP; all areas and all west coast based boats fishing HMS species)
High Seas Fisheries Compliance Act Permit Application (If fishing outside of 200 nm EEZ)
For information call Chris Fanning, NOAA/NMFS SW Region, 562 980 4198
Both applications can be obtained and sent to: Permits Office, NOAA NMFS SWR, 501 W Ocean Blvd #4200, Long Beach, CA 90802
Note on HSFCA Permit: Payment of the fee must be included with any application for the high seas fishing permit. The regulations for the High Seas Fishing Compliance Act, 50 CFR 300.13, state that NMFS will charge a fee of $129.00 to recover the administrative expenses of permit issuance.
Pacific Islands Region Permits (West of 150W)
U.S. / Canada Albacore Treaty
- 2011 Guidance Letter from NOAA/NMFS SWR
- Canadian Vessels Allowed in U.S. waters 2011
- 2011 Guidance letter for the US vessels
NOTICE: Sign in with NMFS for the upcoming treaty year at least 7 days before traveling to Canada, call 562.980.4198 or email john.childers@noaa.gov.
View Film About West Coast Swordfish Fisheries
Wednesday, June 15th, 2011
View a short film by John Dutton, Forming Partnerships – Spotlight: US West Coast Fisheries, which was shown at the U.S. West Coast Swordfish Workshop: Working towards Sustainability, May 10 & 11, 2011, Westin, San Diego, CA.
For more information about the workshop visit the workshop website.
June 2011 Council Meeting
Tuesday, June 14th, 2011
Final 2010 Pacific Marine Mammal Stock Assessments Now Available Online
Friday, June 10th, 2011
The final 2010 Pacific Marine Mammal Stock Assessments are now available online. All NMFS region stock assessments can be accessed either through the NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources website or the Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Protected Resources division website.
Link to all NMFS Region SARs, 1995 to 2010
Federal Register Notice of availability of 2010 Marine Mammal Stock Assessment Reports
Fisheries Economics of the US Report Available
Monday, June 6th, 2011
This week, NMFS Office of Science and Technology released its annual Fisheries Economics of the U.S. report. The report provides economic information related to commercial and recreational fishing activities, and fishing-related industries in the United States. These reports cover a 10-year time period and include descriptive statistics on commercial fisheries landings, revenue, and price trends; recreational fishing effort, participation rates, and expenditure information; and employer and non-employer establishment, payroll, and annual receipt information for fishing-related industries. The economic impact of commercial and recreational fishing activities in the U.S. is also reported in terms of employment, sales, and value-added impacts. The primary purpose of this publication is to provide the public with easily accessible economic information about the Nation’s commercial and recreational fishing activities and associated fishing-related industries. To download the report, visit the NOAA Fisheries website. Contact Rita.Curtis@noaa.gov in S&T for more info.
Fishery Landings by West Coast County, 2006-2010
Wednesday, May 18th, 2011
Maps were created (view pdf) that present rankings by west coast counties according to the major “management groups” (grouping individual species codes) used in the PacFIN database in terms of ex-vessel revenue for the recent 5-year period, 2006-2010. These management groups accord with the four Pacific Council fishery management plans (coastal pelagic species, groundfish, highly migratory species, and salmon) and four additional categories (crab, other, salmon, shellfish, and shrimp). The data were obtained by a query grouping landings by county codes in the database. The PacFIN county codes were then matched to FIPS county codes for use in ArcGIS. (The PacFIN county table includes several codes that are not counties, e.g., “Columbia River below Bonneville Dam.” In data preparation revenue for all these codes were grouped into a single record, which is not displayed in the figures or the table below.) Counties were used as the geographic units for two reasons. First, counties are a useful geographic unit for producing choropleth maps. Second, grouping by county makes it easier to compare landings data to demographic data (available from the census or other sources) in future analyses.
The figure on the first page of the pdf file shows which management group accounts for the largest share of landings (is top ranked) in each county (left panel). Whether the top ranked management group accounts for a majority of ex-vessel revenue (i.e., >50%) or a plurality (i.e., <50% but still the largest share) is indicated. The figure also categorizes average annual total ex-vessel revenue for the 5-year period in quartile categories (right panel).
The remaining four figures in the pdf file show where each county ranks with respect to each management group (two panels in each figure). Crab is the top-ranked source of revenue in 21 counties, the most of any management group, followed by groundfish, top ranked in 6 counties. There are four counties where “other” is the top-ranked management group. PacFIN was queried to determine which species in this management group accounted for the largest share of landings. The top-five species across all counties are California spiny lobster, nominal California halibut, nominal California sheephead, Pacific halibut, and red sea urchin. In the four counties where “other” is the top-ranked group, the top ranked species are nominal California halibut (Contra Costa County, California), California spiny lobster (Orange and San Diego Counties, California), and red sea urchin (Santa Barbara County, California).
The pdf file (link above) includes a table summarizing the rankings by county.
-Kit Dahl, PFMC Staff
Review of Assessment Methods for Data-Poor Groundfish Species Scheduled
Tuesday, March 29th, 2011
A panel tasked with reviewing assessment methods for data-poor groundfish species will hold a work session that is open to the public. The purpose of the Review of Assessment Methods for Data-Poor Species is to review assessment methods for use on data-poor or data-limited stocks in the Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Council) Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and provide a list of endorsed methods to the Pacific Fishery Management Council. Stock assessment methods including Depletion-Corrected Average Catch (DCAC) and Depletion-Based Stock Reduction Analysis (DB-SRA) will be reviewed at the meeting. Several developments of these methods have been proposed, which could raise stocks from Category 3 (catch-based only) to Category 2 in the Groundfish FMP tier system. Category 2 stocks are those where a basic assessment model is fit to trend information. The panel’s role will be development of recommendations and reports for consideration by the Council at its June meeting in Spokane, Washington.
The Review of Assessment Methods for Data-Poor Species will be held beginning at 8:00 a.m., Monday, April 25, 2011 and end at 5:30 p.m. or as necessary to complete business for the day. The panel will reconvene on Tuesday, April 26 and will continue through Friday, April 29, 2011 beginning at 8:00 a.m. and ending at 5:30 p.m. each day, or as necessary to complete business. The panel will adjourn on Friday, April 29, 2011.
The Review of Assessment Methods for Data-Poor Species will be held at:
National Marine Fisheries Service
Southwest Fisheries Science Center
Meeting Room 188
110 Shaffer Road
Santa Cruz, California 95060
Telephone: 831-420-3900
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 regarding the review of assessment methods for data-poor groundfish species, please contact Mr. John DeVore at 503-820-2280 ext. 413 or toll free 1-866-806-7204.
Groundfish Management Team to Meet
Monday, December 27th, 2010
The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Council or PFMC) Groundfish Management Team (GMT) will hold a work session which is open to the public.
The purpose of the GMT work session is to review team roles and responsibilities, conduct workload planning for 2011, review the latest West Coast Groundfish Observer Data, and discuss improvements to the biennial management process.
The GMT meeting will be held Monday, January 10, 2011 from 3 p.m. until business for the day is completed. The GMT meeting will reconvene Tuesday, January 11 through Friday, January 14, from 8:30 a.m. until business for each day is completed.
The GMT meeting will be held at the following location:
Renaissance Long Beach Hotel
Corsican Room, Second Floor
111 East Ocean Boulevard
Long Beach, California 90802
Telephone: 562-437-5900
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 regarding the Groundfish Management Team meeting, please contact Ms. Kelly Ames at 503-820-2280 ext. 426 or Mr. John Devore at 503-820-2280- ext. 413.
Database of hydrokinetic projects updated
Monday, November 22nd, 2010
Our database of active and defunct hydrokinetic projects has been updated. Since the last update, four permits have been surrendered or canceled (Green Wave San Luis Obispo, Green Wave Mendocino, Swave Catalina Green Wave Power, Grays Harbor Ocean Energy and Coastal Protection), and no new projects have come online. See our hydrokinetics web page for more information.
Recent blog posts
- NMFS Announces Proposed Rule Related to the Trawl Rationalization Program
- June 2012 Council Meeting Notice and Proposed Agenda
- South of Humbug Pacific Halibut Workgroup to Hold Conference Call
- PFMC Seeking Comments for Draft Request for Proposals to Modify Groundfish Essential Fish Habitat
- Habitat Committee Will Meet June 12, 2012
- Spring Newsletter Now Available
- June 2012 Briefing Book Deadline
- NMFS Issues Final Rule for 2012 Pacific Whiting Fishery
