Archives: Actions

  • 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.…

  • Groundfish FMP Amendment 35: Stock Definitions for Blackspotted, Chilipepper, Redbanded, Rougheye, Widow, Yelloweye, and Yellowtail Rockfishes, and English Sole

    Amendment 35 to the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) was completed in November 2024. Under Amendment 35, 7 stocks for 8 managed groundfish species were adopted. Amendment 35 defines stock units, including geographic delineations within the jurisdiction of the FMP, for blackspotted, chilipepper, redbanded, rougheye, widow, yelloweye, and yellowtail rockfishes, and English sole.…

  • 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…

  • FMP Amendment 23: Revised Pacific Sardine Rebuilding Plan

    On July 9, 2019, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) notified the Council that the northern subpopulation of Pacific sardine is overfished as the estimated stock size fell below the minimum stock size threshold of 50,000 metric tons. The Council is obligated to develop a rebuilding plan, which must be implemented within two years of the…

  • Electronic monitoring

    Finding cost efficiencies and flexibility for monitoring the trawl rationalization program is a Council priority. In this regard, using at-sea electronic monitoring (EM) to reduce observer costs has been a major focus. In addition, the potential use of EM in lieu of an observer can create a flexible option for vessel operations.   In 2014, 2016,…

  • 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…

  • HMS FMP Amendment 8: Incorporating Essential Fish Habitat Modifications

    The Council initiated a review of HMS essential fish habitat (EFH) provisions in 2020 and took final action approving Amendment 8, which incorporates new and newly available information on EFH into the FMP, at its November 2023 meeting. Periodic EFH reviews are required by the EFH regulations at 50 CFR 600 Subpart J, and this…

  • 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…

  • Groundfish Harvest Specifications and Management Measures for 2025-26 (including Amendment 33):

    The Council adopted its final preferred alternatives (FPA) for the 2025-26 harvest specifications and management measure process at their June 2024 meeting. This action also included adoption of a rebuilding plan for California quillback rockfish. The following summarizes the FPA.   1.1 Harvest Specifications The Council adopted default harvest control rules (HCRs) to calculate harvest specifications…

  • Amendment 34: Coral Research and Restoration

    A Draft Restoration Plan and NEPA Evaluation for the YFD-70 Dry Dock (“Draft Restoration Plan”) was released by NOAA for public comment in December 2022 and the public comment period closed March 15, 2023. The Draft Restoration Plan is the result of a Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) process that began after the dry dock…

  • Salmon FMP Amendment 24: Chinook salmon abundance threshold for SRKW

    The intent of Amendment 24 is to clarify the technical process for reviewing updates to the models used to determine the Chinook salmon abundance threshold that may trigger additional management measures to limit the impact of ocean salmon fisheries on Southern Resident killer whales (SRKW). The whales are listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA)…

  • Salmon FMP Amendment 23: SONCC coho conservation objective updated

    Salmon FMP Amendment 23 updated the description of the conservation objective (revised Harvest Control Rule) for Council-managed salmon fisheries on Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast (SONCC) natural coho.  Amendment 23 replaced the current HCR with two new HCRs.  The first limits total fishery exploitation rates (ERs) on each of five individual representative population units within the…

  • 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…

  • Amendment 32: Non-trawl area management measures

    In November 2019, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) directed the Groundfish Advisory Subpanel (GAP) to develop the scope of action and draft a purpose and need statement for non-trawl area management during the GAP’s March and April 2020 meetings.  The GAP then submitted Informational Report 4 in June 2020 for Council consideration and scheduling…

  • Groundfish FMP Amendment 31: Phase 1 Stock Defintions

    Amendment 31 to the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) was completed in June 2023. Under Amendment 31, 20 stocks for 14 managed groundfish species were adopted. Amendment 31 defines stock units, including geographic delineations within the jurisdiction of the FMP, for black rockfish, canary rockfish, copper rockfish, Dover sole, lingcod, Pacific spiny dogfish,…

  • Groundfish harvest specifications and management measures for 2023-2024 (including Amendment 30)

    Amendment 30 to the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) was completed as part of the 2023-24 Groundfish Harvest Specifications and Management Measures. Under Amendment 30, a 2,000 mt threshold for shortbelly rockfish bycatch that would trigger Council review of the fishery was adopted.  The Council also adopted changes to the use of block…

  • Groundfish FMP Amendment 29 and the 2021-22 Groundfish Harvest Specifications and Management Measures

    Amendment 29 to the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) was completed as part of the 2021-22 Groundfish Harvest Specifications and Management Measures. Under Amendment 29, changes to the allocations of widow rockfish, petrale sole, lingcod south of 40°10 N. lat, and the Slope Rockfish complex, including blackgill rockfish, south of 40°10′ N. lat.…

  • Pacific Whiting Utilization in the At-Sea Sectors

    In 2016, during public meetings to discuss the Council’s 5-year Catch Shares Review process (Agenda Item F.6.c. Supplemental CAB Report, November 2016), issues were identified regarding the whiting sectors, and particularly the Mothership (MS) sector. However, during the development of the follow-on actions, the Council’s ad hoc Community Advisory Board (CAB) did not prioritize alternatives…

  • Amendment 21: Housekeeping” FMP Amendment

    In April 2022, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) initiated a Coastal Pelagic Species Management Team (CPSMT) recommended administrative or “housekeeping” amendment of the CPS Fishery Management Plan (FMP). This idea had initially been proposed in June 2019 by the CPSMT when the Council was developing the management categories action (Amendment 20: Agenda Item F.4.a, Supplemental…

  • Climate-Informed Fisheries Management Initiative

    This initiative would build on the CCI by developing and implementing strategies to improve the responsiveness of fisheries management to climate variability and change, and is intended to set the stage for consideration of climate-informed fisheries management actions. The Council would use a collaborative process that includes IEA scientists, stock assessment scientists, and FMP Management…

  • Optimum Yield Factors Initiative

    As described in National Standard 1 of the MSA, optimum yield (OY) must be assessed and specified in the FMPs and Councils should determine what the relevant social, economic, and ecological factors are in determining OY. An OY Factors Initiative would provide a mechanism to fulfill National Standard 1 by identifying and describing the social,…

  • Assess Flexibility in Fisheries Management Process Initiative

    The purpose of this initiative is to identify whether Council decision-making and NMFS review and regulatory processes should be made more dynamic to respond to rapidly changing environmental conditions. This initiative is intended to respond to the CCI goal to develop and implement strategies for improving the flexibility and responsiveness of our management actions to…