Groundfish FMP Amendment 23: New harvest specifications framework

Amendment 23 amends the harvest specifications framework in the groundfish fishery management plan to meet new requirements in the Magnuson-Stevens Act regarding annual catch limits and accountability measures, and to be consistent with the revised National Standard 1 guidelines. These revised guidelines introduced or defined new fishery management concepts including overfishing limits, an acceptable biological […]

Groundfish FMP Amendment 21 and related amendments (Amendment 21-1 through Amendment 21-4): Allocation of harvest opportunity for trawl and other sectors of the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery

Amendment 21 established intersector allocations needed to support the trawl catch share program (Amendment 20). It has been modified by a number of sub-amendments, starting with Amendment 21-1. These amendments and work on other changes to Amendment 21 are tracked on the Amendment 20 page in the section on “Catch share program modifications.” Amendment 21-4 […]

Groundfish FMP Amendment 20: Trawl rationalization (IFQs and co-ops)

Trawl rationalization Trawl rationalization involved two closely related decisions: the creating the management system used to rationalize the trawl fishery (Amendment 20) and determining the proportion of the available catch that would be allocated to the trawl fishery for most, but not all quota species (Amendment 21). Amendment 20, discussed here, implemented individual fishing quotas […]

Groundfish FMP Amendment 15: Measures to Limit Participation in the Pacific Whiting Fishery

Amendment 15 was an interim measure. The adopted provisions ended when the trawl rationalization program was implemented under Amendment 20. Amendment 15 prohibited sector-specific participation in the shoreside, catcher/processor, and mothership sectors of the Pacific whiting fishery in each sector for which a vessel did not have a historic participation record during the qualifying period. It […]

Amendment 15: An initiative to provide de minimis ocean fishing opportunity for Klamath River Fall Chinook

Amendment 15 allows minimal, or de minimis fisheries in years when the Klamath River Fall Chinook conservation objective is projected not to be met. Alternatives are presented for determining a maximum harvest rate for Klamath fall Chinook that would be allowed under de minimis fisheries. Final rule (effective March 26, 2008) Salmon FMP Amendment 15 final environmental […]

Control date: Open access limited entry

Date: September 13, 2006 Federal Register summary: “NMFS and the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) are beginning to develop a groundfish fishery management plan (FMP) amendment and management measures to reduce harvest capacity in the open access portion of the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery in Federal waters off Washington, Oregon, and California. This document announces […]

Groundfish FMP Amendment 19: Essential fish habitat

Amendment 19 designated essential fish habitat for Council-managed species. The Council approved FMP Amendment 19 and submitted it to NMFS for review on November 23, 2005. NMFS partially approved the amendment on March 8, 2006. Two provisions were disapproved: the designation of specified oil rigs in Southern California as habitat areas of particular concern and […]

CPS FMP Amendment 11: Long-term allocation framework for Pacific sardine

In June 2005, the Council adopted a long-term allocation framework to apportion the annual Pacific sardine harvest guideline among the various non-tribal sectors of the sardine fishery. The resulting Amendment 11 to the CPS Fishery Management Plan (FMP) is intended to achieve optimal utilization of the resource and equitable allocation of harvest opportunity. The National […]

Control date: Spiny dogfish

Date: April 8, 2005 Federal Register summary: “The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Pacific Council) is considering implementing management measures for the spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) fishery off Washington, Oregon and California. This document announces a control date of April 8, 2005, for the spiny dogfish fishery. The control date for the spiny dogfish fishery is […]