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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
The FEP goals and objectives are intended to provide more details on the Council’s Vision for the ecosystem, “a thriving and resilient CCE that continues to provide benefits to current and future generations and supports livelihoods, fishing opportunities, and cultural practices that contribute to the wellbeing of fishing communities and the nation.” In Chapter 4, […]
The MSA’s National Standard 8 requires that fisheries management measures “take into account the importance of fishery resources to fishing communities by utilizing economic and social data . . . in order to (A) provide for the sustained participation of such communities, and (B) to the extent practicable, minimize adverse economic impacts on such communities.” […]
The MSA’s National Standard 10 states: Conservation and management measures shall, to the extent practicable, promote the safety of human life at sea. National Standard 10 guidelines may be found at 50 CFR 600.355. The United States Coast Guard (USCG) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) regularly assess the causes of […]