Action Grouping: In progress

  • Phase 2 Stock Definitions: Identification of Groundfish Stocks in Need of Conservation and Management  

    In this action, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) evaluated groundfish currently managed in the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to identify and define stocks in need of conservation and management in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).  NMFS has advised the Council, both in writing (Agenda Item E.3.a, NMFS Report 1, March 2022) and verbally at the March…

  • Amendment 37: Identification of Groundfish in Need of Conservation and Management and Defining their Stocks 

    In this action, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) evaluated groundfish currently managed in the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to identify and define stocks in need of conservation and management in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). As part of this larger action, the Council considered three action alternatives. Alternative 1 would identify species as in need of conservation and management in the EEZ.…

  • Cordell Bank Fishery Regulation Changes 

    The first iteration of the Cordell Bank Groundfish Conservation Area (GCA) was implemented during the 2004 Harvest Specifications and Management Measures specifically to prohibit recreational groundfish fishing as a measure to protect rockfish species that were declared overfished in the preceding years (69 FR 11063). It was eventually expanded as part of the 2005-06 Biennial…

  • Limited Entry Fixed Gear Follow On Actions

    The Council began its second review of the Limited Entry Fixed Gear (LEFG) permit stacking program (i.e., primary tier fishery) in September 2020. In June 2022, the Council completed its review with adoption of the final report, including research and data needs and recommendation for program changes. In March 2023, under Workload and New Management Measure…

  • Non-Tribal Commercial Halibut Regulatory Changes: Vessel Monitoring Systems, Seabird Avoidance Measures, and Catch Reporting

    What did the Council recommend?  The Council recommended that vessels participating in the non-Tribal directed commercial Pacific halibut (DC) halibut fishery that only retain halibut must carry and operate a Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) unit and deploy streamer lines when setting gear. Specifically, the Council recommended:  For waters north of 42 degrees north latitude (Oregon…

  • CPS FMP Amendment 22: EFH

    At its June 2023 meeting, the Council took final action on essential fish habitat (EFH) provisions for CPS stocks. The Council adopted a new CPS FMP Appendix, which includes updated EFH identification and descriptions, life history summaries, fishing and non-fishing impacts, research and information needs, and new maps. The Council highlighted the need for additional…

  • Fixed Gear Marking and Entanglement Risk Reduction

    Whale entanglement reports off the U.S. West Coast have increased since 2013 with humpback whales being the most common species entangled across all gear types and origins. Recent increases of entanglements in West Coast fisheries pose significant challenges for fisheries management because of the current difficulty to differentiate among gear types that could be the…

  • Ecosystem and Climate Information for Species, Fisheries, and FMPs

    As a follow-on to the Climate and Communities Initiative, in September 2022 the Council endorsed the near-term schedule presented by the Ad Hoc Ecosystem Workgroup (EWG). This would begin with the Ecosystem and Climate Information for Species, Fisheries, and FMPs Initiative, which frequently called Initiative 4 (since it is the fourth initiative undertaken since FEP adoption.…

  • Gear switching and trawl allocation attainment

    Based on issues identified in its first review of the trawl catch share program (review of Amendment 20 to the FMP), the Council undertook a number of follow-on actions (see Section 5.0 of the review document, completed in November 2017).  One of these issues was related to gear switching in the shoreside individual fishing quoa…