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 catch that incorporates a scientific uncertainty buffer, annual catch limits, annual catch targets, and accountability measures that are designed to better account for scientific and management uncertainty and to prevent overfishing.
Amendment 23 environmental assessment (September 2010)
Letter partially approving Amendment 23 and Disapproving Amendment 16-5 to the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (December 27, 2010)