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 notification. The Council adopted a rebuilding plan (Amendment 18 to the CPS FMP) on September 16, 2020. The plan was approved by NMFS on June 14, 2021.   

Amendment 18 was challenged in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The Court issued a decision in the matter on April 22, 2024, holding that NMFS set a rebuilding target that does not violate the MSA, but that NMFS did violate the MSA by adopting a rebuilding plan that relies on conservation and management measures, rather than acceptable biological catch or annual catch limits to rebuild the population, and by failing to demonstrate that Amendment 18 will prevent overfishing. The Court also held that the associated Environmental Assessment violated the National Environmental Policy Act due to NMFS’ reliance on flawed assumptions in comparing alternatives, and by failing to take a hard look at impacts to the humpback whale and its critical habitat. On June 28, 2024, the Court issued an order on remedy, vacating the portions of Amendment 18 that it found invalid. The Court also vacated the EA in its entirety. The Court ordered NMFS to prepare a compliant rebuilding plan and EA by June 1, 2025. 

At its November 2024 meeting, the Council took final action on the revised Pacific sardine rebuilding plan, selecting Alternative 6, Mixed Rate U.S. Harvest. The rebuilding plan includes the following reference points: Tmin = 12 years, Tmax = 24 years, Ttarget = 17 years, and a Rebuilding target = 150,000mt age-1+ biomass.  

The Council transmitted the plan amendment to NMFS for Secretarial review on December 20, 2024.