Action Grouping: Implemented

  • Coho salmon rebuilding plans

    Final Coho rebuilding plans Strait of Juan de Fuca Natural Coho Salmon Rebuilding Plan; Regulatory Identifier Number 0648-BJ05 (October 2019) Queets River Natural Coho Salmon Rebuilding Plan; Regulatory Identifier Number 0648-BJ05 (October 2019) Snohomish River Natural Coho Salmon Rebuilding Plan; Regulatory Identifier Number 0648-BJ05 (October 2019)

  • 2020 Pacific Halibut Catch Sharing Plan

    At each September meeting, the Council considers proposed changes to the Pacific halibut Catch Sharing Plan (CSP) and annual regulations for IPHC regulatory Area 2A (Washington, Oregon, California) to allocate the Pacific halibut catch limit between treaty Indian and non-Indian harvesters, and among non-Indian commercial and recreational (sport) fisheries. The Council takes final action on…

  • Climate and Communities Initiative

    The California Current Ecosystem (which extends from the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula up to waters off Vancouver Island) supports the economies and social fabric of at least 125 communities in California, Oregon and Washington. As fish populations and the ecosystems that sustain them change in response to climate shifts, there may be profound…

  • CPS FMP Amendment 17: Incidental catch allowance in the live bait fishery

    Amendment 17 to the coastal pelagic species (CPS) fishery management plan was approved by the Council in November 2018 and by the Secretary of Commerce in June 2019. Amendment 17 eliminates the predetermined incidental catch allowance in the live bait fishery when a CPS stock is overfished, and instead requires the Council to determine appropriate…

  • Chinook salmon rebuilding plans

    Final Chinook rebuilding plans Klamath River Fall Chinook Salmon Rebuilding Plan; Regulatory Identifier Number 0648-BI04 (July 2019) Sacramento River Fall Chinook Salmon Rebuilding Plan; Regulatory Identifier Number 0648-BI04 (July 2019) Proposed rule February 4, 2020

  • HMS FMP Amendment 6: Authorization of a deep-set buoy gear fishery

    The Council began scoping the authorization deep-set buoy gear (DSBG) to target swordfish in March 2016. It adopted a range of alternatives, including a preliminary preferred alternative in November 2018 and took final action to identify its preferred alternative in September 2019. During review of the Council final action NMFS identified several elements of the…

  • 2019-2020 current salmon season management

    The current salmon season (May 1, 2019-April 30, 2020 management measures are available in Preseason Report III: Council-Adopted Management Measures and Environmental Assessment Part 3 for 2019 Ocean Salmon Fishery Regulations. The links below provide access to the management measures for specific sectors. Commercial troll management measures Tribal management measures Recreational management measures Other sources of…

  • Transition of Pacific halibut Area 2A management

    In 2019, the Council decided to move forward with the transition of management authority of the Area 2A Non-Indian Commercial Directed Pacific Halibut Fishery (directed fishery) fishery from IPHC to the Council and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). In April 2019 the Council was provided with a scoping report that outlined tasks and considerations that…

  • Groundfish FMP Amendment 26: Allocation of harvest opportunity between sectors of blackgill rockfish and other species managed in the slope rockfish complex south of 40°10′ N latitude

    In November 2015, the Council took final action to remove blackgill rockfish from the Slope Rockfish complex south of 40⁰ 10’ N. latitude and reallocate blackgill rockfish and the remaining species in the southern Slope Rockfish complex to trawl and non-trawl sectors as follows: No changes were recommended to the accumulation limit for these species.…

  • Gear regulations

    In March 2016, the Council recommended that trawl gear regulations be updated to reflect the individual accountability provided by the trawl catch share program. Specifically, the Council recommended: allowing vessels to carry and use multiple trawl gears types on a single trip (fish caught using different gears must be stowed separately) eliminating minimum mesh size…

  • Groundfish FMP Amendment 18: Bycatch Mitigation Program

    Amendment 18 was developed at the same time as Amendment 19. Amendment 18: Requires the use of current bycatch minimization measures. Fully describes the current standardized bycatch reporting methodology. Incorporates the Groundfish Strategic Plan goal of reducing overcapacity in all commercial fisheries. Implements a sector-specific bycatch accounting methodology. Supports the future use of individual fishing quota…

  • Fishery Ecosystem Plan 5-year review

    In September 2018, the Council initiated a review of the Council’s Pacific Coast Fishery Ecosystem Plan. In March 2020 the Council took final action to adopt revised FEP Chapters 1 & 2 based on the public review draft with revisions recommended by its advisory bodies and the public. In March 2021 the EWG provided revised…

  • HMS FMP Amendment 4: Housekeeping changes and stock status determination criteria

    In March 2017, the Council was presented with proposed changes to the HMS FMP as Amendment 4.  These proposed changes originated from a 2016 recommendation from the HMS Management Team (HMSMT) for housekeeping changes that would revise dated and inaccurate text.  At its June 2017 meeting the Council adopted for public review proposed these changes to…

  • CPS FMP Amendment 16: Describe minor directed fisheries

    CPS Amendment 16 adds a description to the CPS FMP of a very small sector of the CPS fishery that is not part of the primary commercial directed fishery and harvests minor amounts of CPS finfish.  The intent of Amendment 16 is to allow this sector to continue targeting CPS finfish after a directed fishery…

  • At-sea set-asides of darkblotched rockfish and Pacific ocean perch

    In September 2016, the Council changed management of the at-sea whiting sector allocations of darkblotched rockfish and Pacific ocean perch to set-asides, while maintaining the allocation formulas in the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan for these two stocks to determine the set-aside amounts. Amendment 21-3 was included as part of this action. The final rule was published…

  • HMS FMP Amendment 5: Create a Federal limited entry permit for the California large mesh drift gillnet (DGN) fishery

    In March 2017 the Council took final action to adopt Amendment 5 to the Fishery Management Plan for West U.S. Coast Fisheries for Highly Migratory Species (HMS FMP).  This amendment would create a Federal limited entry permit for the California large mesh drift gillnet (DGN) fishery. Upon publication of NMFS’s final rule to establish the…

  • Widow rockfish quota share reallocation and divestiture deadlines

    Under Amendment 20, overfished species such as widow rockfish were allocated to permit holders based on the quota share allocation of the target species with which the overfished species are incidentally caught. Amendment 20 states that for overfished species, the quota share allocations may be reconsidered when the species is rebuilt. Widow rockfish is now…

  • Control date: Shorebased trawl catch share program gear switching

    Date: September 15, 2017 Federal Register summary: “This advance notice provides information on a request by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) to establish a control date of September 15, 2017, for the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery. The Council may use the control date to limit the extent, location, or ability to use non-trawl gear…

  • Control date: Catcher-processor accumulation limits

    Date: June 13, 2017 Federal Register summary: “This advance notice of proposed rulemaking provides information on a request by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) to announce deliberations of potential accumulation limits for Catcher Processor Permit use or ownership in the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery. The Council may not count any acquisition and usage of…

  • 2017-2018 harvest specifications and management measures (including Amendment 27)

    The Council recommended changes to the FMP during the development of the 2017-2018 harvest specifications and management measures. Amendment 27 FMP reclassified big skate from an ecosystem component species to “in the fishery,” list deacon rockfish in Table 3-1, and revised Chapter 5.5 to describe a new inseason process in California. The new inseason process…

  • Groundfish FMP Amendment 27: Changes related to the 2017-2018 biennial management process

    FMP changes related to the biennial management process Amendment 27 to the Groundfish FMP was developed as part of the 2017-2018 harvest specifications and management measures process. It reclassified big skate from an ecosystem component species to “in the fishery,” listed deacon rockfish as a management unit species, and added a description of a new…

  • Allow fixed-gear and trawl joint registration

    In April 2012, the Council recommended allowing a fixed gear permit and a trawl permit to be registered to the same vessel at the same time.

  • Commercial Sablefish Regulations and Electronic Fish Tickets

    In September 2013, the Council initiated the limited entry fixed gear (LEFG) sablefish permit stacking program review. The review was finalized in June 2014 and at the same time, the Council recommended the use of electronic fish tickets and changes to the own-and-control rules.  A regulatory amendment in 2016 implemented these two recommendations along with…

  • Quota share divestiture rule

    By November 30, 2015, anyone who controls trawl quota shares was required to be within the quota share control limits (including the aggregate non-whiting quota share control limit) with respect to all of their holdings—except for widow rockfish quota shares, which continues to be under a transfer moratorium. In April 2015, the Council recommended that…